The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing, which is distributed along the partition separating the fluid chambers in the coiled tapered tube of the cochlea.
The name cochlea derives .
The cochlea (: cochleae) is a spiraled, hollow, conical chamber of bone, in which waves propagate from the base (near the middle ear and the oval window) to the apex (the top or center of the spiral). The spiral canal of the cochlea is a section of the bony labyrinth of the inner ear that is approximately 30 mm long and makes 2 turns about the modiolus. The cochlear structures include:
Three scalae or chambers:
the vestibular duct or scala vestibuli (containing perilymph), which lies superior to the cochlear duct and abuts the oval window
the tympanic duct or scala tympani (containing perilymph), which lies inferior to the cochlear duct and terminates at the round window
the cochlear duct or scala media (containing endolymph) a region of high potassium ion concentration that the stereocilia of the hair cells project into
The helicotrema, the location where the tympanic duct and the vestibular duct merge, at the apex of the cochlea
Reissner's membrane, which separates the vestibular duct from the cochlear duct
The osseous spiral lamina, a main structural element that separates the cochlear duct from the tympanic duct
The basilar membrane, a main structural element that separates the cochlear duct from the tympanic duct and determines the mechanical wave propagation properties of the cochlear partition
The Organ of Corti, the sensory epithelium, a cellular layer on the basilar membrane, in which sensory hair cells are powered by the potential difference between the perilymph and the endolymph
hair cells, sensory cells in the Organ of Corti, topped with hair-like structures called stereocilia
The spiral ligament.
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The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts: The cochlea, dedicated to hearing; converting sound pressure patterns from the outer ear into electrochemical impulses which are passed on to the brain via the auditory nerve.
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates, and in the lateral line organ of fishes. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment. In mammals, the auditory hair cells are located within the spiral organ of Corti on the thin basilar membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear. They derive their name from the tufts of stereocilia called hair bundles that protrude from the apical surface of the cell into the fluid-filled cochlear duct.
The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three bones in either middle ear that are among the smallest bones in the human body. They serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea). The absence of the auditory ossicles would constitute a moderate-to-severe hearing loss. The term "ossicle" literally means "tiny bone". Though the term may refer to any small bone throughout the body, it typically refers to the malleus, incus, and stapes (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) of the middle ear.