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otolith organ

^ http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0002518

The crystalline particles composed of calcium carbonate and a protein which adhere to the gelatinous membrane of the maculae of the utricle and saccule (otolithic membrane). [ http://openisbn.com/search.php?q=0-683-40008-8&isbn=1/ MP:0002894 http://www.informatics.jax.org/accession/llw2 ]

Term info

database cross reference
Subsets

uberon_slim, efo_slim, pheno_slim, vertebrate_core, organ_slim

UBPROP 0000003

In fishes, as in other vertebrates, the vestibular end-organs are divided into a gravity receptor system, with three subdivisions and an angular acceleration receptor system. The gravity receptor system on each side consists of utricular, saccular, and lagenar maculae, each covered by an otolith (reference 1); (...)considerations have led to our rethinking issues related to the origin of several aspects of vertebrate hearing, and to the view that many basic auditory functions evolved very early in vertebrate history, and that the functions observed in more `advanced' vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, are frequently modifications of themes first encountered in fishes, and perhaps even more ancestral animals (reference 2).[well established][VHOG]

depicted by

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Bigotolith.jpg

editor note

Representation of utricle, sacule and otoliths in correspondence to other ontologies may require review. In EHDAA2, saccule and utricle are epithelia

has related synonym

utricle and saccule, otolith organs, saccule and utricle

id

UBERON:0002518