Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2008 Jul 2.
Published in final edited form as: J Vestib Res. 2007;17(4):145–162.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Schematic cross section of the layered structure of a utricular organ. This is a representative diagram of the layered structure in the lateral-medial transect of the utricle. From the top down, the layers are labeled: OL for the otoconial layer; GL for the compact Gel Layer; CFL for the Column Filament Layer; and EL for the Epithelial Layer. Also indicated in this figure are Hair Cells (HC), which reside in the epithelial layer. Figure 1a) shows an undeformed state with lateral to the right and medial to the left. Figure 1b) shows a deformed state of the utricle as the otoconial layer shears the column filament and compact gel layers. The striolar region is indicated here with the thickest GL and thinnest CFL. The striolar region also encompasses the line of polarity reversal.