The crista interfenestralis is an
anatomical
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
feature found in the
inner ear
The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in t ...
of many
reptiles. It is a bone ridge that divides the inner ear into two parts, the anterior and the posterior. The anterior part contains the
fenestra ovalis
The oval window (or ''fenestra vestibuli'' or ''fenestra ovalis'') is a membrane-covered opening from the middle ear to the cochlea of the inner ear.
Vibrations that contact the tympanic membrane travel through the three ossicles and into the i ...
and seems to be analogous to the
vestibular duct
The vestibular duct or scala vestibuli is a perilymph-filled cavity inside the cochlea of the inner ear that conducts sound vibrations to the cochlear duct.
It is separated from the cochlear duct by Reissner's membrane and extends from the vest ...
, whereas the posterior part is analogous to the recess for the
tympanic duct
The tympanic duct or scala tympani is one of the perilymph-filled cavities in the inner ear of humans. It is separated from the cochlear duct by the basilar membrane, and it extends from the round window to the helicotrema, where it continues as ...
.
References
Ear
Reptile anatomy
{{Vertebrate anatomy-stub