
The organ of Corti is overlain by the gel-like tectorial membrane, which is indirectly connected to the osseous spiral lamina through the spiral limbus. Only the stereocilia of the OHCs appear to be in contact with the tectorial membrane.
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Tectorial membrane.
Tectorial membrane (cochlea) | |
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Section through the spiral organ of Corti. (Membrana tectoria labeled at center top.) | |
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Identifiers | |
Latin | membrana tectoria ductus cochlearis |
What is the function of the tectorial membrane in Corti?
The organ of Corti is overlain by the gel-like tectorial membrane, which is indirectly connected to the osseous spiral lamina through the spiral limbus. Only the stereocilia of the OHCs appear to be in contact with the tectorial membrane.
What is the organ of Corti?
The organ of Corti, named after Alfonso Corti who first described it, is the sensorineural organ of the cochlea. It is composed of sensory cells called hair cells, nerve fibers that connect to them, and supporting structures.
Where is the Corti located in the ear?
The organ of Corti is located in the scala media of the cochlea of the inner ear between the vestibular duct and the tympanic duct and is composed of mechanosensory cells, known as hair cells. Strategically positioned on the basilar membrane of the organ of Corti are three rows of outer hair cells (OHCs) and one row of inner hair cells (IHCs).
Where is the fibrous tectorial membrane located?
The fibrous tectorial membrane rests on top of the stereocilia or the outer hair cells. Mutations in a alpha-tectorin, which encodes a protein specific to the tectorial membrane, cause deafness.

What are the parts of the organ of Corti?
The Organ of Corti is an organ of the inner ear located within the cochlea which contributes to audition. The Organ of Corti includes three rows of outer hair cells and one row of inner hair cells. Vibrations caused by sound waves bend the stereocilia on these hair cells via an electromechanical force.
What membrane is the organ of Corti?
basilar membrane…the basilar membrane is the organ of Corti, an array of hair cells with stereocilia that contact a gelatinous membrane called the tectorial membrane. Sound entering the inner ear stimulates different regions of the basilar membrane, depending on sound frequency.
Where would you find the organ of Corti and tectorial membrane?
The tips of the outer hair cell stereocilia are imbedded in a gelatinous mass called the tectorial membrane which lies on top of the organ of Corti and is secreted from cells (not shown) on the left. When sound is transmitted to the inner ear the organ of Corti begins to vibrate up and down.
What does the tectorial membrane?
The tectorial membrane (TM) is an extension of the posterior longitudinal ligament, connecting the dorsal aspect of the dens and the vertebral bodies of C2 and C3 to the clivus. Along with the alar ligament, it prevents anterior subluxation of the head on the cervical spine and limits flexion.
What are the three components of the organ of Corti?
( A ) The organ of Corti rests on the basilar membrane, and is composed of the sensory receptor cells (OHCs and IHCs), supporting cells ( yellow ), and the tectorial membrane (TM).
Which of the following is part of the spiral organ organ of Corti )?
Which of the following is part of the spiral organ (organ of Corti)? semicircular canals.
Where is the tectorial membrane is found?
the inner earThe tectorial membrane (TM) of the inner ear is a ribbon-like strip of extracellular matrix that spirals along the entire length of the cochlea.
What is the difference between the basilar membrane and the tectorial membrane?
The key difference between basilar and tectorial membrane is that basilar membrane is the membrane that forms the floor of the cochlear duct, on which the cochlear hair cells lie embedded, while tectorial membrane is the fibrous sheet overlying the apical surface of the cochlear hair cells.
What is the organ of Corti quizlet?
Organ of Corti: The true organ of hearing, a spiral structure within the cochlea containing hair cells that are stimulated by sound vibrations.
Where is the organ of Corti located?
cochleaThe organ of Corti is located in the scala media of the cochlea of the inner ear between the vestibular duct and the tympanic duct and is composed of mechanosensory cells, known as hair cells.
What contains hair cells and tectorial membrane?
Within the cochlea lies the Organ of Corti. This structure is composed of the basilar membrane, the hair cell receptors, and the tectorial membrane. The tectorial membrane (from tectum meaning roof) lies over the hair cells; it serves as a shelf against which the cilia of hair cells brush upon movement.
Is the organ of Corti in the cochlear duct?
The cochlear duct contains the organ of Corti. This is attached to the basilar membrane. It also contains endolymph, which contains high concentrations of K+ for the function of inner hair cells and outer hair cells in the organ of Corti.
What is the organ of the corti?
Organ of Corti: overview. The organ of Corti, named after Alfonso Corti who first described it, is the sensorineural organ of the cochlea. It is composed of sensory cells called hair cells, nerve fibers that connect to them, and supporting structures.
What is the function of the organ of Corti?
The function of the organ of Corti, for a soft sound (such as speech), can schematically be summed up in 5 sequences: (1) Sound waves, transmitted by the perilymph, make the basilar membrane vibrate up and down.
Is the tectorial membrane removed?
The tectorial membrane has been removed, and only the marginal net remains (the white band lateral to the OHCs). The surface of the hair cells (with the stereocilia), and the inside of the organ of Corti are visible along the sectioning plane.
What is the organ of corti?
The organ of Corti (Fig. 24.2C), the sensory epithelium resting upon the basilar membrane (for a review see Slepecky, 1996 ), senses mechanical vibration of incoming sound and converts it to action potentials. It is made up of two types of sensory cells ( Fig. 24.2C–G ): outer hair cells (OHCs) and inner hair cells (IHCs) and several types of supporting cells ( Fig. 24.2D ). The OHCs are arranged in three parallel rows ( Fig. 24.2D, F ), whereas the IHCs are in a single row ( Fig. 24.2D, F, G). At their apical end, the hair cells are provided with stereocilia in a typical ‘W’ pattern. The organ of Corti is overlain by the gel-like tectorial membrane, which is indirectly connected to the osseous spiral lamina through the spiral limbus. Only the stereocilia of the OHCs appear to be in contact with the tectorial membrane. Shearing movements between the basilar membrane with the sensory epithelium and the tectorial membrane cause receptor potentials to be produced in the hair cells, by means of deflections of their stereocilia (reviewed in Nobili et al., 1998 ). Sensory transduction in the cochlea has been studied for many years, and over the last 30 years it has been recognized that the IHCs ( Fig. 24.2G) act as the primary receptor cell (Markin and Hudspeth, 1995; Russell, 1983 ), whereas the OHCs act as motor cells that can convert membrane potential into a mechanical force (reviewed in Nobili et al., 1998 ).
Where does the organ of the corti develop?
The mammalian organ of Corti develops within the dorsal wall of the elongating cochlear duct, a structure composed of polarized, pseudostratified epithelial cells that first emerges from the ventromedial pole of the otocyst at ~ E12 in mice and attains its characteristic coiled configuration, albeit not full length, by E15 ( Morsli, Choo, Ryan, Johnson, & Wu, 1998 ). Two regions can be distinguished within the dorsal wall of the cochlear duct from which the organ of Corti develops, the greater and the lesser epithelial ridges (GER and LER, respectively, see Fig. 6 E14.5), regions which differ initially in their thickness. The IHCs with their associated supporting cells and those lying more medial (i.e., the cells of the spiral sulcus and spiral limbus) originate from the GER, while the outer hairs, Dieters’ cells, Hensen's cells, and the cells of Claudius and Boettcher originate from the LER.
How many hair cells are there in the ear?
The organ of Corti consists of inner and outer hair cells and supporting cells. At birth, there are about 16 000 hair cells in each ear, and these are solely responsible for how we perceive sound. Hair cells have stereocilia that form bundles that act like antennae. These project into the surrounding endolymph or insert into the tectorial membrane, and move in response to fluid displacements caused by sound waves. This generates an electrical signal by opening specific ion channels in the cells.
What is the reticular lamina?
M, mitochondrion. The reticular lamina is the term used to designate that part of the flat surface of the organ of Corti formed by the supporting cells. When viewed from above it has the appearance of a net or reticulum whose outlines are formed by the Deiters cells, the inner phalangeal cells, and the tunnel rods.
What organs have lost their compact structure?
The mammalian organ of Corti has lost the compact structure that is so obviously a feature of all the other auditory and all vestibular receptor organs (Figs. 17 and 18). There are large extracellular spaces around the outer hair cells as well as between the tunnel rods in the organ of Corti, and without some structural provision for support, the organ would almost certainly collapse. The supporting cells have become specialized to provide the necessary stiffness by the presence of the “tonofilaments” which are arranged in bundles within the cytoplasm. These filaments were observed by early histologists; recent ultrastructural studies have confirmed their presence. One of the supporting elements, the tunnel rod, is a new phylogenetic development; there is no comparable structure in the pigeon or in most reptiles. Larsell, McCrady, and Larsell (1944) studied the embryonic development of the tunnel rods in the opossum pouch young. The 48-day-old pouch animal shows a transition from nondifferentiated epithelium in the apex to well-developed tunnel rods in the lower turns. The first evidence for differentiation is a slit between two tall columnar cells. This is the beginning of the tunnel opening which apparently becomes gradually widened at later stages. Tonofilaments are found in well-differentiated tunnel rods in the region of the upper first and lower second coils but not above and not below this region at this stage of development.
Which system innervates afferent fibers?
There are also two systems of efferent fibers: the lateral efferent system (lateral olivocochlear system; LOC) that innervates afferent fibers under the IHCs and the medial efferent system (medial olivocochlear system; MOC) that innervates the OHCs ( White and Warr, 1983 ).
Which organ is overlain by the gel-like tectorial membrane?
The organ of Corti is overlain by the gel-like tectorial membrane, which is indirectly connected to the osseous spiral lamina through the spiral limbus. Only the stereocilia of the OHCs appear to be in contact with the tectorial membrane.
What is the organ of corti?
Organ of Corti. The organ of Corti is a specialized sensory epithelium that allows for the transduction of sound vibrations into neural signals. The organ of Corti itself is located on the basilar membrane. The organ of Corti rests on the basilar membrane and contains two types of hair cells: inner hair cells and outer hair cells.
How do hair cells transduce sound?
Inner hair cells transduce sound from vibrations to neural signals via the shearing action of their stereocilia. Outer hair cells serve a function as acoustic pre-amplifiers which improve frequency selectivity by allowing the organ of Corti to become attuned to specific frequencies, like those of speech or music.
What is the organ of the corti?
FMA. 75715. Anatomical terminology. The organ of Corti, or spiral organ, is the receptor organ for hearing and is located in the mammalian cochlea. This highly varied strip of epithelial cells allows for transduction of auditory signals into nerve impulses' action potential. Transduction occurs through vibrations of structures in ...
What is the function of the organ of Corti?
The function of the organ of Corti is to convert ( transduce) sounds into electrical signals that can be transmitted to ...
What are the outer hair cells in the basilar membrane?
Strategically positioned on the basilar membrane of the organ of Corti are three rows of outer hair cells (OHCs) and one row of inner hair cells (IHCs). Surrounding these hair cells are supporting cells: Deiters cells, also called phalangeal cells, which have a close relation with the OHCs, and pillar cells, which separate and support both ...
How does sound affect the corti?
Sound waves enter through the auditory canal and vibrate the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum, which vibrates three small bones called the ossicles . As a result, the attached oval window moves and causes movement of the round window, which leads to displacement of the cochlear fluid. However, the stimulation can happen also via direct vibration of the cochlea from the skull. The latter is referred to as Bone Conduction (or BC) hearing, as complementary to the first one described, which is instead called Air Conduction (or AC) hearing. Both AC and BC stimulate the basilar membrane in the same way (Békésy, G.v., Experiments in Hearing. 1960).
What happens if you have mutations in the genes expressed in or near the organ of Corti before the differentiation
Mutations in the genes expressed in or near the organ of Corti before the differentiation of hair cells will result in a disruption in the differentiation, and potential malfunction of , the organ of Corti.
Which organ modulates the auditory signal?
The organ of Corti is also capable of modulating the auditory signal. The outer hair cells (OHCs) can amplify the signal through a process called electromotility where they increase movement of the basilar and tectorial membranes and therefore increase deflection of stereocilia in the IHCs.
How long is the cochlea?
If the cochlea were uncoiled, it would roll out to be about 33 mm long in women and 34 mm in men, with about 2.28 mm of standard deviation for the population . The cochlea is also tonotopically organized, meaning that different frequencies of sound waves interact with different locations on the structure.
What is the Organ of Corti?
Sound is processed by the central nervous system thanks to afferent signals originating in the inner ear. These signals are created in response to fluid vibrations and structures in the inner and middle ear.
Organ of Corti
As stated above, the organ of Corti is contained within a primary component in the inner ear, the cochlea, and it is the last stop of sound vibration before it is transformed into a nervous impulse. The pathway sound travels will be highlighted below, beginning from its origin as vibration in the air to its final location in the organ of Corti.
Auditory Nerve
The auditory nerve, also known as the vestibulocochlear nerve, acoustic nerve, and cranial nerve VIII, receives signals from the inner ear and transmits them to the brain.
