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The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three irregular bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals, and are among the smallest bones in the human body. . Although the term "ossicle" literally means "tiny bone" (from Latin ossiculum) and may refer to any small bone throughout the body, it typically refers specifically to the malleus, incus and stapes ("hammer, anvil, and ...
Skull fractures that go through the part of the skull containing the ear structures (the temporal bone) can also cause damage to the middle ear. [42] A cholesteatoma is a cyst of squamous skin cells that may develop from birth or secondary to other causes such as chronic ear infections. It may impair hearing or cause dizziness or vertigo, and ...
The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates , the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. [ 1 ] In mammals , it consists of the bony labyrinth , a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts: [ 2 ]
The middle ear is the portion of the ear medial to the eardrum, and distal to the oval window of the cochlea (of the inner ear). The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes), which transfer the vibrations of the eardrum into waves in the fluid and membranes of the inner ear .
The stapes is the third bone of the three ossicles in the middle ear and the smallest in the human body. It measures roughly 2 to 3 mm , greater along the head-base span. [ 1 ] It rests on the oval window , to which it is connected by an annular ligament and articulates with the incus , or anvil through the incudostapedial joint . [ 2 ]
Some of the bones were lost, but the quadrate, the articular, and the angular bones became free-floating and associated with the stapes. This occurred at least twice in the mammaliformes. The multituberculates had jaw joints that consisted of only the dentary and squamosal bones, and the quadrate and articular bones were part of the middle ear ...
The bony labyrinth (also osseous labyrinth or otic capsule) is the rigid, bony outer wall of the inner ear in the temporal bone. It consists of three parts: the vestibule, semicircular canals, and cochlea. These are cavities hollowed out of the substance of the bone, and lined by periosteum.
The petrous part of the temporal bone is pyramid-shaped and is wedged in at the base of the skull between the sphenoid and occipital bones.Directed medially, forward, and a little upward, it presents a base, an apex, three surfaces, and three angles, and houses in its interior the components of the inner ear.