Ossicles

The ossicles (also called auditory ossicles) are three <a href="/facts/Irregular_bone/3tMkYSnG">irregular bones</a> in the <a href="/facts/Middle_ear/H2A50utA">middle ear</a> of <a href="/facts/Human/rlcTENsr">humans</a> and other <a href="/facts/Mammal/phSwTzBo">mammals</a>, and are among the smallest <a href="/facts/Bone/kwJaR6IQ">bones</a> in the human body. Although the term "ossicle" literally means "tiny bone" (from <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> ossiculum) and may refer to any small bone throughout the body, it typically refers specifically to the <a href="/facts/Malleus/wBYj3Kb0">malleus</a>, <a href="/facts/Incus/5LavkAy0">incus</a> and <a href="/facts/Stapes/TbLLQTrw">stapes</a> ("hammer, anvil, and stirrup") of the middle ear.
The auditory ossicles serve as a <a href="/facts/Kinematic_chain/7RTSWjQ9">kinematic chain</a> to transmit and amplify (<a href="/facts/Intensity_(physics)/KFWkJkJI">intensify</a>) <a href="/facts/Sound/DlKXlPuF">sound</a> vibrations collected from the air by the <a href="/facts/Ear_drum/2mHLYSMF">ear drum</a> to the fluid-filled <a href="/facts/Labyrinth_(inner_ear)/SJxQ8lTT">labyrinth</a> (<a href="/facts/Cochlea/J2ozV2sP">cochlea</a>). The absence or pathology of the auditory ossicles would constitute a moderate-to-severe <a href="/facts/Conductive_hearing_loss/IPV1CT4V">conductive hearing loss</a>.

Ossicles open-in-new

Ossicles