Vestibular membrane
Membrana vestibularis
- Latin synonym: Paries vestibularis ductus cochlearis
- Synonym: Vestibular wall of cochlear duct; Vestibular surface of cochlear duct
- Latin eponym: Membrana Reissneri;
- Eponym: Reissner’s membrane
- Related terms: Vestibular surface; Vestibular membrane
Definition
The osseous spiral lamina extends only part of the distance between the modiolus and the outer wall of the cochlea, while the basal lamina stretches from its free edge to the outer wall of the cochlea, and completes the roof of the scala tympani. A second and more delicate membrane, the vestibular membrane (Reissneri) extends from the thickened periosteum covering the osseous spiral lamina to the outer wall of the cochlea, where it is attached at some little distance above the outer edge of the basal lamina. A canal is thus shut off between the scala tympani below and the scala vestibuli above; this is the ductus cochlearis or scala media.
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/).
