A question on Békésy.

["reinifrosch@xxxxxxxxxx" <reinifrosch@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear colleagues,

At the bottom of page 475 of his book "Experiments in Hearing",
McGraw-Hill, New York, von Békésy (1960) has written:

"[...] It was further established that the gelatinous mass in the
cochlear duct increased the rigidity of the partition, especially
near the helicotrema. [...]"

What is that "gelatinous mass"? I seem to remember that
the viscosity of endolymph is about equal to that of water. 

A wild guess: "gelatinous mass" = tectorial membrane (??)

Your (on- or off-line) suggestions would be very welcome, 
of course, even if you are not absolutely sure !

Reinhart.

Reinhart Frosch,
Dr. phil. nat.,
r. PSI and ETH Zurich,
Sommerhaldenstr. 5B,
CH-5200 Brugg.
Phone: 0041 56 441 77 72.
Mobile: 0041 79 754 30 32.
E-mail: reinifrosch@xxxxxxxxxx .