Ossicles

The malleus, incus, and stapes, the smallest bones in the body

Overview

The ossicles are three tiny bones in the middle ear, the malleus or hammer, the incus or anvil, and the stapes or stirrup, which is the smallest bone in the human body. They form a chain linking the eardrum to the oval window of the cochlea. Together with the much larger area of the eardrum compared with the oval window, their lever action matches the impedance of air to that of the inner ear fluids, so sound energy is not mostly reflected away. Damage to the chain, from infection, trauma, or otosclerosis of the stapes, causes conductive hearing loss.