Walls of cochlea

The walls of cochlea constitute the bony enclosure of the auditory component of the inner ear. The bony cochlea hosts within it, a tubular component of the membranous labyrinth, called the cochlear duct. Due to the cochlear duct situated in the center, the bony cochlea gets sub-divided into three long channels, namely; the scala vestibuli above, the scala tympani below, and the cochlear duct (a.k.a. scala media) in the middle.

A small opening for the cochlear canaliculus can be found within the bony walls of cochlea, close to the base of scala tympani. While at one end, the cochlear canaliculus (a.k.a. cochlear aqueduct) opens into the cochlear wall, at the other end, the cochlear canaliculus passes through the petrous temporal bone to eventually open up into the jugular fossa.