Cochlea

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cochlea \Coch"le*a\ (k[o^]k"l[-e]*[.a]), n. [L., a snail, or
     snail shell, Gr. kochli`as a snail, fr. ko`chlos a shellfish
     with a spiral shell.] (Anat.)
     An appendage of the labyrinth of the internal ear, which is
     elongated and coiled into a spiral in mammals. See {Ear}.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cochlea
       n : the snail-shaped tube (in the inner ear coiled around the
           modiolus) where sound vibrations are converted into nerve
           impulses by the Organ of Corti
       [also: {cochleae} (pl)]