kinocilium

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kinocilium (pl. kinocilia) The single cilium of a hair cell that protrudes much further than the other, relatively short, stereocilia. In cross-section, its shaft has the 9 + 2 array of microtubules characteristic of motile cilia (see undulipodium). Kinocilia are absent from some hair cells in the mammalian ear; they do not seem to be essential for the cell's sensory function.