The fenestra of the cochlea is a small opening in the vestibular wall of the cochlea in the inner ear. It is pronounced /fəˈnɛstrə ɒv ðə ˈkɒkliə/ in IPA phonetic transcription. The first syllable "fə-" is unstressed and pronounced as "fuh". The second syllable "-nɛstrə" contains the diphthong "-ɛi-" which sounds like "ay". The third syllable "ɒv" is stressed and pronounced as "ahv". The last two syllables "ðə ˈkɒkliə" are pronounced like "thuh KOK-lee-uh".
The fenestra of the cochlea, also known as the oval window or vestibular window, is an anatomical structure located in the inner ear. The cochlea is part of the auditory system responsible for hearing.
The fenestra of the cochlea is a small, oval-shaped opening located at the base of the cochlea, where it connects with the middle ear. It is covered by a thin membrane called the oval window membrane. This membrane separates the fluid-filled cochlea from the air-filled middle ear cavity.
The purpose of the fenestra of the cochlea is to transmit sound waves from the middle ear to the fluid-filled cochlea. When sound waves enter the ear, they cause the eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted through three small bones in the middle ear, called the ossicles. The final bone in this chain, the stapes, pushes against the oval window membrane, creating vibrations within the fluid of the cochlea.
These fluid vibrations initiate a complex series of events within the cochlea, which ultimately leads to the conversion of mechanical energy (sound waves) into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain as sound. The fenestra of the cochlea plays a critical role in this process by allowing the transmission of sound energy from the middle ear to the cochlea, making it an essential component of the auditory system.