Article
Article
DISCLAIMER: This article is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at last review, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information.
Cochlear wave propagation
Article By:
Ren, Tianying Oregon Hearing Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
Last reviewed:2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB100231
The auditory peripheral organ consists of the outer, middle, and inner ears. The cochlea (from the Greek word for snail), in the inner ear, is the auditory sensory organ. The bony, spiral cochlear shell is filled with fluid and separated by Reissner's membrane and the basilar membrane into three ducts: the scala tympani, scala media, and scala vestibuli (Fig. 1a). Because of the flexibility of Reissner's membrane, the cochlea is often simplified to a two-duct mechanical system, in which the two ducts are open to each other at the apex and sealed at the cochlear base by the stapes on the scala-vestibuli side and the round window membrane on the scala-tympani side (Fig. 1b).
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
