Inner ear, cochlea

Illustrated at left is a cross section across one turn of the spiral cochlea.  All of the labelled structures extend lengthwise through all the turns of the cochlea, from its base to its apex, as indicated in the right-hand illustration.

Click on one of the thumbnails at right for higher- or lower-magnification views.

The space of the scala media, including the spaces surrounding the hair cells, are filled with endolymph.

• Endolymph is secreted by cells of the stria vascularis.

Scala vestibuli and scala tympani are filled with perilymph.

Sensory axons stimulated by hair cells of the organ of Corti pass by the spiral ganglion (where their cell bodies reside), hence into the modiolus (the central column of the cochlea) and the auditory nerve.

Comments and questions: dgking@siu.edu

SIUC / School of Medicine / Anatomy / David King

http://www.siumed.edu/~dking2/ssb/EE004b.htm
Last updated:  14 January 2005 / dgk