cochlear hair cell morphology trait cochlear inner hair cell morphology trait cochlear IHC morphology trait Trait.ontology VT:0004393 Any measurable or observable characteristic related to the shape, structure, color, or pattern of the sensory cells of the organ of Corti which are in synaptic contact with sensory as well as efferent fibers of the auditory nerve; there is a single row of flask-shaped inner hair cells tightly surrounded by supporting interphalangeal cells; the apical end of each cell is anchored to the cuticular plate and about 100 stereocilia arranged in a more or less linear (or shallow) U-shaped pattern extend from the cell's surface through the cuticular plate into the endolymphic space inferior to the tectorial membrane.