A cochlear implant restores hearing despite complete loss of cochlear hair cells because it directly stimulates which structure?
- A Spiral ganglion cell bodies and their axons ✓
- B Organ of Corti supporting cells
- C Inner hair cell stereocilia
- D Tectorial membrane mechanoreceptors
Correct answer: A. Spiral ganglion cell bodies and their axons
Explanation
The cochlear implant bypasses damaged hair cells entirely and delivers electrical current to the spiral ganglion neurons, whose central axons form the auditory nerve and remain viable even after hair cell destruction. This is why neural survival in Rosenthal's canal predicts outcome. Option C fails because inner hair cells are precisely the elements destroyed in profound sensorineural loss, and options B and D describe non-neural structures that cannot generate action potentials.
Reference: Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.