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Stereocilia (or stereovilli or villi) are non-motile apical cell modifications. They are distinct from cilia and microvilli , but are closely related to microvilli. They form single "finger-like" projections that may be branched, with normal cell membrane characteristics.
In the inner ear, stereocilia are the mechanosensing organelles of hair cells, which respond to fluid motion in numerous types of animals for various functions, including hearing and balance. They are about 10–50 micrometers in length and share some similar features of microvilli . [ 1 ]
In mammalian outer hair cells, the varying receptor potential is converted to active vibrations of the cell body. This mechanical response to electrical signals is termed somatic electromotility; [13] it drives variations in the cell's length, synchronized to the incoming sound signal, and provides mechanical amplification by feedback to the traveling wave.
The cochlea, dedicated to hearing; converting sound pressure patterns from the outer ear into electrochemical impulses which are passed on to the brain via the auditory nerve. The vestibular system, dedicated to balance. The inner ear is found in all vertebrates, with substantial variations in form and function.
Microvilli (sg.: microvillus) are microscopic cellular membrane protrusions that increase the surface area for diffusion and minimize any increase in volume, [1] and are involved in a wide variety of functions, including absorption, secretion, cellular adhesion, and mechanotransduction.
When stereocilia in the tallest row are deflected in the positive-stimulus direction, the shorter rows of stereocilia are also deflected. [7] These simultaneous deflections occur due to filaments called tip links that attach the side of each taller stereocilium to the top of the shorter stereocilium in the adjacent row.
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The hair bundle is composed of stiff microvilli called stereocilia and is involved with mechanoreception of sound waves. Stereocilia cells generate an electrical response to the vibrations of sound waves, crucial for normal hearing. This gene is part of a tandem duplication on chromosome 15; the second copy is a pseudogene.