Organ of coi is situated in

Organ of Coi is the sense organ of hearing and is situated on the basilar membrane. Impoant components of the organ of Coi are: 1. Tunnel of Coi- which is formed by the inner and outer rods. It contains a fluid called coilymph. The exact function of the rods and coilymph is not known. 2. Hair cells- They are impoant receptor cells of hearing and transduce sound energy into electrical energy. Inner hair cells form a single row while outer hair cells are arranged in three or four rows. Inner hair cells are richly supplied by afferent cochlear fibres and are probably more impoant in the transmission of auditory impulses. Outer hair cells mainly receive efferent innervation from the olivary complex and are concerned with modulating the function of inner hair cells. 3. Suppoing cell- Deiters' cells are situated between the outer hair cells and provide suppo to the latter. Cells of Hensen lie outside the Deiters' cells. 4. Tectorial membrane- It consists of gelatinous matrix with delicate fibres. It overlies the organ of Coi. The shearing force between the hair cells and tectorial membrane produces the stimulus to hair cells. Reference-Dhingra 6/e, p 13.