Auditory ossicles
Ossicula auditus
- Latin synonym: Ossicula auditoria; Ossicula auditiva
Definition
The auditory ossicles are the three smallest bones in the human body, the malleus, the incus and the stapes. The first is attached to the tympanic membrane, the last to the circumference of the fenestra vestibuli, the incus being placed between and connected to both by delicate articulations. They are contained within the middle ear space and serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth (cochlea)
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
