Stria vascularis of cochlear duct

The stria vascularis of the cochlear duct is a capillary loop in the upper portion of the spiral ligament (the outer wall of the cochlear duct). It produces endolymph for the scala media in the cochlea.

Stria vascularis of cochlear duct
Cross section of the cochlea.
Details
Systemcochlea
Identifiers
Latinstria vascularis ductus cochlearis
MeSHD013316
NeuroLex IDbirnlex_2525
TA98A15.3.03.096
TA27028
FMA77832
Anatomical terminology

Structure

The stria vascularis is part of the lateral wall of the cochlear duct.[1] It is a somewhat stratified epithelium containing primarily three cell types:

  • marginal cells,[1] which are involved in K+ transport, and line the endolymphatic space of the scala media.
  • intermediate cells,[1] which are pigment-containing cells scattered among capillaries.
  • basal cells,[1] which separate the stria vascularis from the underlying spiral ligament.[2] They are connected to basal cells with gap junctions.[1]

The stria vascularis also contains pericytes, melanocytes, and endothelial cells.[3] It also contains intraepithelial capillaries - it is the only epithelial tissue that is not avascular (completely lacking blood vessels and lymphatic vessels).

Function

The stria vascularis produces endolymph for the scala media, one of the three fluid-filled compartments of the cochlea.[4] This maintains the ion balance of the endolymph that surround inner hair cells and outer hair cells of the organ of Corti.[4] It secretes lots of K+,[1][4] and may also secrete H+.[1]

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 1055 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

  1. Marcus, Daniel C. (2012). "37 - Acoustic Transduction". Cell Physiology Source Book (4th ed.). Academic Press. pp. 649–668. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-387738-3.00037-8. ISBN 978-0-12-387738-3.
  2. Ross, Michael H. Histology : a text and atlas / Michael H. Ross, Wojech Pawlina., -6th ed. p 940.
  3. Cummings (2001). "Chapter 140: Cochlear Anatomy and Central Auditory Pathways". Stria vascularis (PDF). Textbook of Otolaryngology. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  4. Hopkins, Kathryn (2015). "27 - Deafness in cochlear and auditory nerve disorders". Handbook of Clinical Neurology. Elsevier. pp. 479–494. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-62630-1.00027-5. ISBN 978-0-444-62630-1. ISSN 0072-9752.
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