Reticular membrane
Membrana reticularis
Definition
The reticular membrane (reticular lamina) is a delicate frame-work perforated by rounded holes which are occupied by the free ends of the outer hair cells.
It extends from the heads of the outer rods of Corti to the external row of the outer hair cells, and is formed by several rows of “minute fiddle-shaped cuticular structures,” called phalanges, between which are circular apertures containing the free ends of the hair cells. The inner most row of phalanges consists of the phalangeal processes of the outer rods of Corti; the outer rows are formed by the modified free ends of Deiters’ cells.
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
