Effects of Geometry on Fluid Loading in a Coiled Cochlea SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics Volume 61, Number 2 pp. Richard S. Chadwick Abstract.
Most people support the idea that the purpose of coiling is to pack the cochlea into a small space.
However, attempts by researchers to establish the functional significance of the complex shape of the cochlea have been inconclusive. We study the effects of geometry on fluid loading in the cochlea and introduce helicoidal coordinates in order to describe cochlear geometry and fluid motion. We study the fluid equations within the WKB framework and numerically simulate the pressure in a plane containing the modiolar axis. We then compare numerical results for different geometrical parameters. We find that pressure on the BM increases with increasing BM width and decreasing cross-sectional area of the cochlear ducts.