-ˈkȯrd.ē, -rˌtē
Usage: usually capitalized C
Etymology: after Alfonso Corti — more at arch of corti
: a complex epithelial structure in the cochlea that in mammals is the chief if not the only part of the ear by which sound is directly perceived and that rests on the internal surface of the basilar membrane and contains two spiral rows of minute rods of Corti which arch over a spiral tunnel of Corti and support on the inner side a single row of columnar hair cells and on the outer side several rows having their bases surrounded by arborizations derived from the ganglion cells of the spiral ganglion of the cochlear nerve