cochlea

(noun)

the complex, spirally coiled, tapered cavity of the inner ear in which sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses

Related Terms

Examples of cochlea in the following topics:

  • Transduction of Sound

    • The vibrations of the oval window create pressure waves in the fluid (perilymph) inside the cochlea.
    • Inside the cochlea, the basilar membrane is a mechanical analyzer that runs the length of the cochlea, curling toward the cochlea’s center.
    • Vibrations travel up the fluid-filled interior of the cochlea.
    • The basilar membrane that lines the cochlea gets continuously thinner toward the apex of the cochlea.
    • In the cross section of the cochlea (top right figure), note that in addition to the upper canal and lower canal, the cochlea also has a middle canal.

  • Audition: Hearing, the Ear, and Sound Localization

    • Within the cochlea there are three fluid-filled spaces: the tympanic canal, the vestibular canal, and the middle canal.
    • The cochlea separates sounds according to their place on the frequency spectrum.
    • Hair cells in the cochlea perform the transduction of these sound waves into afferent electrical impulses.
    • The cochlea is the snail-shaped portion of the inner ear responsible for sound wave transduction.
    • A cross-section of the cochlea, the main sensory organ of hearing, located in the inner ear.

  • Human Perception of Sound

    • The sound waves are then transmitted from the elliptical window through the inner ear's semicircular canals, the cochlea, and the audio nerve, which is filled with fluid.
    • Your cochlea is shaped like a snail, and is full of teeny tiny hairs.

  • Development of Hearing and Balance

    • The vestibular wall will separate the cochlear duct from the perilymphatic scala vestibuli, a cavity inside the cochlea.

  • Vestibulocochlear (VIII) Nerve

    • The cochlear nerve travels away from the cochlea of the inner ear where it starts as the spiral ganglia.

  • Overview of the Axial Skeleton

    • They are contained within the middle ear space and serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea) .

  • Additional Sensory Systems

    • Together with the cochlea (a part of the auditory system) it constitutes the labyrinth of the inner ear in most mammals, situated within the vestibulum in the inner ear.
    • The vestibular system, together with the cochlea, makes up the workings of the inner ear and provides us with our sense of balance.

  • Tactile Sensation

    • The hair cells in the cochlea are the most sensitive mechanoreceptors, transducing air pressure waves into nerve signals sent to the brain.

  • Sensory Modalities

    • The ossicles (three tiny bones in the middle ear) pass the vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea (spiral shell-shaped auditory organ of the inner ear).
    • The vibrations move through the liquid in the cochlea where the receptive organ is able to sense it.

  • Human Axial Skeleton

    • The auditory ossicles of the middle ear transmit sounds from the air as vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea.