pillar cells

pillar cells
elongated supporting cells found in the organ of Corti in a double row (inner and outer pillar c's), with their heads joined and their bases on the basilar membrane widely separated so as to form a tunnel (inner tunnel or canal of Corti) that extends the length of the cochlea. Called also Corti rods.

Pillar cells forming the inner tunnel in the organ of Corti in the internal ear.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • pillar — A structure or part having a resemblance to a column or p.. [L. pila] anterior p. of fauces palatoglossal arch. anterior p. of fornix SYN: column of fornix. Corti pillars SYN: p. cells, under c …   Medical dictionary

  • phalangeal cells — rows of supporting cells between the sensory hair cells of the organ of Corti (see cochlea). * * * elongated supporting cells of the organ of Corti with bases that rest on the basilar membrane adjacent to the pillar cells. Inner phalangeal cells… …   Medical dictionary

  • Corti fibers — pillar cells …   Medical dictionary

  • pillars of organ of Corti — pillar cells …   Medical dictionary

  • Cell — The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane. Each cell in the human body there are 100 trillion cells in each of us contains the entire… …   Medical dictionary

  • ear, human — ▪ anatomy Introduction       organ of hearing and equilibrium that detects and analyzes noises by transduction (or the conversion of sound waves into electrochemical impulses) and maintains the sense of balance (equilibrium).  The human ear, like …   Universalium

  • organum spirale — [TA] spiral organ: the organ, resting on the basilar membrane of the cochlear duct, that contains the auditory hair cells, special sensory receptors for hearing, as well as several types of supporting cells, such as the inner and outer pillar… …   Medical dictionary

  • Corti — Marquis Alfonso, Italian anatomist, 1822–1876. See C. arch, C. canal, C. cells, under cell, C. ganglion, C. membrane, C. organ, C. pillars, under pillar, C. rods, under rod, C. auditory teeth, under tooth, C. tunnel, pillar cells of C., under… …   Medical dictionary

  • space — Any demarcated portion of the body, either an area of the surface, a segment of the tissues, or a cavity. SEE ALSO: area, region, zone. SYN: spatium [TA]. [L. spatium, room, s.] alveolar dead s …   Medical dictionary

  • Phalanx — Anatomically, any one of the bones in the fingers or toes. (The plural of phalanx is phalanges.) There are 3 phalanges (the proximal, middle, and proximal phalanx) in most of the fingers and toes. However, the thumb and large toe have only two… …   Medical dictionary

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