Claudius cells are considered as supporting cells within the

organ of Corti The organ of Corti, or spiral organ, is the receptor organ for hearing and is located in the mammalian cochlea. This highly varied strip of epithelial cells allows for transduction of auditory signals into nerve impulses' action potential. Transd ...

in the

cochlea The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory or ...

. These cells extend from Hensen's cells to the spiral prominence epithelium, forming the outer sulcus. They are in direct contact with the

endolymph Endolymph is the fluid contained in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. The major cation in endolymph is potassium, with the values of sodium and potassium concentration in the endolymph being 0.91 mM and 154 mM, respectively. I ...

of the

cochlear duct The cochlear duct (bounded by the scala media) is an endolymph filled cavity inside the cochlea, located between the tympanic duct and the vestibular duct, separated by the basilar membrane and the vestibular membrane (Reissner's membrane) re ...

. These cells are sealed via

tight junctions Tight junctions, also known as occluding junctions or ''zonulae occludentes'' (singular, ''zonula occludens''), are multiprotein junctional complexes whose canonical function is to prevent leakage of solutes and water and seals between the epith ...

that prevent flow of endolymph between them. Boettcher cells are located immediately under Claudius cells in the lower turn of the cochlea. Claudius cells are named after German anatomist,

Friedrich Matthias Claudius Friedrich Matthias Claudius (1 June 1822 – 10 January 1869) was a German anatomist who was a native of Lübeck. He was related to the German poet Matthias Claudius (1740–1815). In 1844 he earned his doctorate from the University of Göttingen, ...

(1822–1869).

References

{{Auditory_and_vestibular anatomy Auditory system