hair cell

n. 1. A long, slender, hairlike cell in the in organ of Corti in the inner ear, which transduces pressure waves into electrical impulses in the auditory nerve. 2. A long, slender, hairlike cell in the ampullae of the semicircular canals, which transduces pressure into electrical impulses sent through the afferent vestibular nerve to the vestibular nucleus and the cerebellum.