Outer hair cells and Deiter's cells in the cochlea

Deiter's cells (front) provide structural support to the organ of Corti in the form of cross bracing. The outer hair cells (centre/back) connect into the back of the concave Deiter's cells (bottom/front) while the rigid, pillar-like support parts of the Deiter's cell (purple) connect to the top of the adjoining hair cell. The rigidity comes from bundles of microfilaments within the pillar.