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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Dec 20.
Published in final edited form as: J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2011 Mar 8;54(6):1709–1731. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0149)

Figure 1. Gross Anatomy of the Mammalian Cochlea.

Figure 1

A) The cochlea is composed of many cell types including bone (purple), ligament, sensory epithelia, and nerve that enables communication between the sensory epithelia and the brain. B) Close-up of the sensory epithelium (boxed region in A) illustrates the organ of Corti, which consists of inner and outer hair cells and their corresponding supporting cells. Hair cells are responsible for transducing the mechanical motion of the basilar membrane into neural impulses that can be interpreted as sound by the brain. The supporting cells act to provide structural and nutritional support for hair cells and possibly act as hair cell progenitors as well. C) Ototoxic damage, such as exposure to noise or aminoglycoside antibiotics, results in hair cell loss and subsequent hearing loss. In some instances, the supporting cells remain intact after damage and may act as a target for gene therapy. D) It is also possible for ototoxic damage to completely ablate the organ of Corti. In such an instance, the remaining cells form a flat epithelium that spans the basilar membrane.