Unpublished paper, 'The structure and function of the rods of the cochlea in man and other mammals' by Urban Pritchard

Description

Pritchard aims to describe the true construction and use of the cochlea, so far as its task of distinguishing the various sounds is concerned. He describes the cochlea as thus: 'This cochlea, it must be borne in mind, consists of a spiral canal, in form and shape very similar to the inside of a snail-shell. From the axis of this spiral, there proceeds horizontally a plate of bone, the lamina spiralis, almost dividing this canal into two; from this plate, again, there extend two membranes, the membrane of Reissner and the lamina spiralis membranacea, as far as the walls of the canal, thus separating it into three minor canals. Between the layers of the membranous spiral lamina are situated the so-called Rods of Corti. These were first discovered and described by the Marquis de Corti; and although since then many observers have studied the subject, yet scarcely two investigators are agreed as to their exact form.'

Annotations in pencil and ink throughout. Marked on front as 'Archives - plates returned to author'.

Subject: Anatomy / Physiology / Otology

Received 18 April 1872. Read 30 May 1872. Communicated by Lionel Beale.

Written by Pritchard at 87 St Paul's Road, Highbury [London].

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 20 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'The structure and function of the rods of the cochlea in man and other mammals'.

A version of this paper was published by Pritchard in The Monthly Microscopical Journal [later Journal of Microscopy]: Pritchard, Urban. 'On the Structure and Function of the Rods of the Cochlea in Man and other Mammals.' The Monthly Microscopical Journal, volume 9, number 4 (1873), pp. 150-157.

Reference number

AP/54/10

Earliest possible date

17 April 1872

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

15 pages

Format

Manuscript