The organ of Corti containing hearing receptors is the
(A) vestibule,
(B) tympanic cavity,
(C) Eustachian tube,
(D) cochlea.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is (D) cochlea.
The organ of Corti, which contains the sensory receptors for hearing, is located within the cochlea of the inner ear. The cochlea is a spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure responsible for converting sound vibrations into electrical signals that are sent to the brain for interpretation.
The cochlea contains the organ of Corti, which is situated along the basilar membrane. This organ is made up of hair cells that act as receptors for sound. When sound waves enter the ear, they travel through the outer ear canal to the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted through the middle ear bones (ossicles), which amplify the sound and pass the vibrations to the fluid in the cochlea.
Inside the cochlea, the vibrations cause the fluid to move, which in turn makes the basilar membrane vibrate. The hair cells in the organ of Corti are stimulated by these vibrations. Each hair cell is sensitive to different frequencies of sound, which allows the cochlea to detect a wide range of pitches. When the hair cells are displaced by the vibrations, they send electrical signals via the auditory nerve to the brain, where the signals are processed and perceived as sound.
The vestibule and tympanic cavity, listed as other answer choices, are parts of the inner ear but are not directly involved in hearing. The vestibule helps with balance and spatial orientation, while the tympanic cavity is part of the middle ear that houses the ossicles. The Eustachian tube, also mentioned, serves to equalize pressure between the middle ear and the outside environment, but it is not involved in hearing directly.