Sex diffferences in the length of the organ of Corti in humans

Sato et at. [Acta. Otolaryngol. 111 (6), 1037-1040 (1991)] reported that the human cochlea is, on average, 15% longer for males than females. This corresponds to 4.7 mm in length and to 2.78 standard deviations (SD). Anatomical measurements of the lengths of cochleas from 148 heads (194 cochleas) from eleven sources are reviewed and summarized. A sex difference of 3.36% is observed. This corresponds to 1.11 mm in length and to 0.49 SD. The mean lengths of the male and female cochleas are approximately 34 and 33 mm, respectively, and the population SD is 2.28 mm. The statistical significance of the observed difference is questionable. (c) 2007 Acoustical Society of America.