Stapes - wikipedia Stapes Stapes, Stirrup Frontal view of stapes ( A ), and view from below ( B ). Details Precursor 2nd branchial arch Articulations Incudostapedial joint Identifiers Latin Stapes MeSH D013199 TA A15. 3.02. 033 FMA 52751 Anatomical terms of bone ( edit on Wikidata ) This article is one of a series documenting the anatomy of the Human ear Outer ear Pinna Tragus Middle ear Tympanic membrane Ossicles Malleus Incus Stapes Inner ear Vestibules Utricle Saccule Cochlea Semicircular canals The stapes / ˈsteɪpiːz / or stirrup is a bone in the middle ear of humans and other mammals which is involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear. The stirrup - shaped small bone is on and transmits these to the oval window, medially. The stapes is the smallest and lightest named bone in the human body, and is so - called because of its resemblance to a stirrup ( Latin : Stapes ). Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Development 1.2 Animals 1.3 Variation 2 Function 3 Clinical relevance 4 History 5 References 6 External links Structure See also : Ossicles The size of the stapes, compared with a 10 - cent euro coin. The stapes is the third bone of the three ossicles in the middle ear. The stapes is a stirrup - shaped bone, and the smallest in the human body. It rests on the oval window, to which it is connected by an annular ligament. The stapes is described as having a base, resting on the oval window, as well as a head that articulates with the incus. These are connected by anterior and posterior limbs ( Latin : crura ). The stapes articulates with the incus through the incudostapedial joint. The stapes is the smallest bone in the human body, and measures roughly 3 x 2.5 mm, greater along the head - base span. Development The stapes develops from the second pharyngeal arch during the sixth to eighth week of embryological life. The central cavity of the stapes, the obturator foramen, is due to the presence embryologically of the stapedial artery, which usually regresses. Animals See also : Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles The stapes is one of three ossicles in mammals. In non-mammalian four - legged animals, the bone homologous to the stapes is usually called the columella ; however, in reptiles, either term may be used. In fish, the homologous bone is called the hyomandibular, and is part of the gill arch supporting either the spiracle or the jaw, depending on the species. The equivalent term in amphibians is the pars media plectra. Variation The stapes appears to be relatively constant in size in different ethnic groups. In 0.01 - 0.02 % of people, the stapedial artery does not regress, and persists in the central foramen. In this case, a pulsatile sound may be heard in the affected ear, or there may be no symptoms at all. Rarely, the stapes may be completely absent. Function Main article : Hearing Situated between the incus and the inner ear, the stapes transmits sound vibrations from the incus to the oval window, a membrane - covered opening to the inner ear. The stapes is also stabilized by the stapedius muscle, which is innervated by the facial nerve. Clinical relevance Otosclerosis is a congenital or spontaneous - onset disease characterized by abnormal bone remodeling in the inner ear. Often this causes the stapes to adhere to the oval window, which impedes its ability to conduct sound, and is a cause of conductive hearing loss. Clinical otosclerosis is found in about 1 % of people, although it is more common in forms that do not cause noticeable hearing loss. Otosclerosis is more likely in young age groups, and females. Two common treatments are stapedectomy, the surgical removal of the stapes and replacement with an artificial prosthesis, and stapedotomy, the creation of a small hole in the base of the stapes followed by the insertion of an artificial prosthesis into that hole. Surgery may be complicated by a persistent stapedial artery, fibrosis - related damage to the base of the bone, or obliterative otosclerosis, resulting in obliteration of the base. History The stapes, as first described by Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia ( Labeled M, bottom right ). The stapes is commonly described as having been discovered by the professor Giovanni Filippo Ingrassia in 1546 at the University of Naples, although this remains the nature of some controversy, as Ingrassia 's description was published posthumously in his 1603 anatomical commentary In Galeni librum de ossibus doctissima et expectatissima commentaria. Spanish anatomist Pedro Jimeno is first to have been credited with a published description, in Dialogus de re medica ( 1549 ). The bone is so - named because of its resemblance to a stirrup ( Latin : stapes ), an example of a late Latin word, probably created in mediaeval times from `` to stand '' ( Latin : stapia ), as stirrups did not exist in the early Latin - speaking world. References ^ Jump up to : Drake, Richard L. ; Vogl, Wayne ; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell ; illustrations by Richard ; Richardson, Paul ( 2005 ). Gray 's anatomy for students. Philadelphia : Elsevier / Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8089 - 2306 - 0. ^ Jump up to : Chapman, SC ( Jan 1, 2011 ). `` Can you hear me now ? Understanding vertebrate middle ear development ''. Frontiers in Bioscience. 16 : 1675 -- 92. doi : 10.2741 / 3813. PMC 3065862. PMID 21196256. Jump up ^ aWengen, DF ; Nishihara, S ; Kurokawa, H ; Goode, RL ( April 1995 ). `` Measurements of the stapes superstructure ''. The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology. 104 ( 4 Pt 1 ) : 311 -- 6. PMID 7717624. Jump up ^ Rodriguez - Vazquez, J.F. ( August 2005 ). `` Development of the stapes and associated structures in human embryos ''. Journal of Anatomy. 207 ( 2 ) : 165 -- 173. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7580.2005. 00441. x. PMC 1571512. PMID 16050903. Jump up ^ Romer, Alfred Sherwood ; Parsons, Thomas S ( 1977 ). The Vertebrate Body. Philadelphia, PA : Holt - Saunders International. ISBN 0 - 03 - 910284 - X. Jump up ^ Arensburg, B. ; Harell, M. ; Nathan, H. ( February 1981 ). `` The human middle ear ossicles : Morphometry, and taxonomic implications ''. Journal of Human Evolution. 10 ( 2 ) : 199 -- 205. doi : 10.1016 / S0047 - 2484 ( 81 ) 80018 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Mutlu, C ; da Costa, SS ; Paparella, MM ; Schachern, PA ( 1998 ). `` Clinical - histopathological correlations of pitfalls in middle ear surgery ''. European Archives of Oto - Rhino - Laryngology. 255 ( 4 ) : 189 -- 94. doi : 10.1007 / s004050050041. PMID 9592676. Jump up ^ Silbergleit, R ; Quint, DJ ; Mehta, BA ; Patel, SC ; Metes, JJ ; Noujaim, SE ( Mar 2000 ). `` The persistent stapedial artery ''. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 21 ( 3 ) : 572 -- 7. PMID 10730654. Jump up ^ REIBER, M ; SCHWABER, M ( February 1997 ). `` Congenital absence of stapes and facial nerve dehiscence ''. Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. 116 ( 2 ) : 278 -- 278. doi : 10.1016 / S0194 - 5998 ( 97 ) 70343 - 7. ^ Jump up to : Tympanoplasty, Mastoidectomy, and Stapes Surgery. Georg Thieme Verlag. 2008. ISBN 978 - 1 - 282 - 86537 - 2. Jump up ^ Menger, D.J. ; Tange, R.A. ( April 2003 ). `` The aetiology of otosclerosis : a review of the literature ''. Clinical Otolaryngology and Allied Sciences. 28 ( 2 ) : 112 -- 120. doi : 10.1046 / j. 1365 - 2273.2003. 00675. x. Jump up ^ Hall, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. ( 2005 ). Textbook of medical physiology ( 11th ed. ). Philadelphia : W.B. Saunders. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7216 - 0240 - 0. Jump up ^ Dispenza, F ; Cappello, F ; Kulamarva, G ; De Stefano, A ( October 2013 ). `` The discovery of stapes ''. Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica. 33 ( 5 ) : 357 -- 9. PMC 3825043. PMID 24227905. Jump up ^ Mudry, Albert ( April 2013 ). `` Disputes Surrounding the Discovery of the Stapes in the Mid 16th Century ''. Otology & Neurotology. 34 ( 3 ) : 588 -- 592. doi : 10.1097 / MAO. 0b013e31827d8abc. Jump up ^ Harper, Douglas. `` Stapes ( n. ) ''. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 27 December 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stapes. `` 3 - D Virtual Models of the Human Temporal Bone and Related Structures ''. Eaton Peabody Laboratory of Auditory Physiology. Retrieved September 8, 2016. This article uses anatomical terminology ; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology. Anatomy of hearing and balance Outer ear Auricle helix antihelix tragus antitragus intertragic notch earlobe Ear canal Auricular muscles Eardrum umbo pars flaccida Middle ear Tympanic cavity Medial structures oval window round window secondary tympanic membrane prominence of facial canal promontory of tympanic cavity Posterior structures mastoid cells aditus to mastoid antrum pyramidal eminence Ossicles Malleus superior ligament lateral ligament anterior ligament Incus superior ligament posterior ligament Stapes annular ligament Muscles stapedius tensor tympani Auditory tube / Eustachian tube Torus tubarius Inner ear / ( membranous labyrinth, bony labyrinth ) Auditory system / Cochlear labyrinth General cochlea Vestibular duct Helicotrema Tympanic duct Modiolus Cochlear cupula Perilymphatic space Perilymph Cochlear aqueduct Cochlear duct / scala media Reissner 's / vestibular membrane Basilar membrane Reticular membrane Endolymph Stria vascularis Spiral ligament Organ of Corti stereocilia tip links Tectorial membrane Sulcus spiralis externus internus Spiral limbus Cells Claudius cell Boettcher cell Vestibular system / Vestibular labyrinth Vestibule Utricle macula Saccule macula Kinocilium Otolith Vestibular aqueduct endolymphatic duct endolymphatic sac Ductus reuniens Semicircular canals Superior semicircular canal Posterior semicircular canal Horizontal semicircular canal Ampullary cupula Ampullae crista ampullaris Bones in the human skeleton Axial skeleton Skull Neurocranium occipital parietal frontal temporal sphenoid ethmoid Face nasal maxilla lacrimal zygomatic palatine inferior nasal conchae vomer mandible hyoid Ear ossicles malleus incus stapes Thorax sternum rib cage rib Vertebral column vertebrae cervical thoracic lumbar sacrum coccyx Appendicular Shoulder clavicle scapula Arm humerus ulna radius Hand carpals ( scaphoid, lunate bone, triquetral, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate ) metacarpals phalanges ( prox, int, dist ) Pelvis ilium ischium pubis Leg femur patella fibula tibia Foot tarsals heelbone anklebone navicular cuneiform cuboid metatarsals phalanges proximal intermediate distal accessory accessory navicular Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stapes&oldid=825336589 '' Categories : Auditory system Skeletal system Skull Hidden categories : Anatomy infobox template using unsupported parameters Articles containing Latin - language text Good articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Latina Македонски മലയാളം Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский සිංහල Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska తెలుగు ไทย Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 February 2018, at 20 : 42. 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Question: which are the smallest bones in the body
Answer: The stapes