cochlea
"The cochlea is like an acoustic prism in that its sensitivity spreads across different sound frequencies along its length"
"COCHLEA is to transduction as skate-park is to skating.
The cochlea is like a skate-park because transduction occurs in the cochlea in the inner-ear, while skating occurs in a skate-park."
The sound waves ride around the cochlea the way a skate boarder rides around a skate park??
"The cochlea is like a snail shell-it has three full turns. The main canal is subdivided into three openings, or smaller canals."
"The cochlea is like a coiled tube, the inside of which is divided into three compartments."
"The theory behind the use of multiple electrodes in cochlear implants is based on Von Bekesy's tonotopic theory, according to which the normally functioning cochlea mechanically sorts sounds by their frequency: high tones closer to the round window and low tones closer to the apex. In essence, the cochlea is like a piano, and the critical event should be to press the keys at the right spot to initiate the proper tone or frequency. However, does the tonotopic theory apply to the damaged-as opposed to the normal-cochlea?"

METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.