10 Essential Facts for Understanding the Ear

6. Auditory Ossicles

The eardrum sits within the tympanic cavity, which also contains the three smallest bones in the body and two of the smallest muscles. The bones or ossicles are the malleus, incus, and stapes. The malleus is attached to the eardrum and extends into the tympanic cavity. The incus is connected to the malleus and the stapes, forming the center link in the chain. The stapes is an arched bone with a footplate held in place by a ring of tissue called the "oval window," which functions as the entrance to the inner ear. These bones work together to move sound into the inner ear from the eardrum.

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