406 



ORGAN SYSTEMS OF MAN 



-62 vibrations 

 per second 



cochlear 

 conol 



hair cells 



Jt^ -basilar membrane 



organ of Corti 



Fig. 16-10. The cochlea uncoiled and cut in cross-section to show the organ of Corti in detail. 

 The parallel lines to the left indicate the wave lengths of the various notes and the ap- 

 proximate position in the cochlea where the organ of Corti picks them up. 



transmitted to the brain over the auditory which is divided into three chambers, all 



nerve. filled with fluid. The middle chamber con- 



The highly complex cochlea can best be tains the organ of Corti (named after its 



studied by uncoiling and cutting across it discoverer) which is the most important 



in order to examine its internal structures part of the vibration-receiving mechanism. 



(Fig. 16-10). It is a long tapering tube It consists of a basilar membrane composed 



