Cochlea

n. coiled structure in the inner ear

The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. Its core component is the Organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing, which is distributed along the partition separating fluid chambers in the coiled tapered tube of the cochlea.The name is from the Latin for snail, which is from the Greek kokhlias "snail, screw," from kokhlos "spiral shell,"(etymology) in reference to its coiled shape; the cochlea is coiled in most mammals, monotremes being the exceptions.
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Cochlea /coch·lea/ 1. anything of a spiral form. 2. a spiral tube forming part of the inner ear, which is the essential organ of hearing. [more]Cochlea - Community and Resources

Noun
1. the snail-shaped tube (in the inner ear coiled around the modiolus) where sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses by the Organ of Corti
(hypernym) tube, tube-shaped structure
(part-holonym) inner ear, internal ear, labyrinth
(part-meronym) basilar membrane

n. cochlea, coiled structure in the inner ear