Malleus 

Bone: Malleus
Left malleus. A. From behind. B. From within.
The right membrana tympani with the hammer and the chorda tympani, viewed from within, from behind, and from above. (Malleus visible at center.)
Bones and muscles in the tympanic cavity in the middle ear
Gray's subject #231 1044
Precursor 1st branchial arch1
MeSH Malleus

The malleus or hammer is a hammer-shaped small bone or ossicle of the middle ear which connects with the incus and is attached to the inner surface of the eardrum. The word is Latin for hammer.

It transmits the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the incus.

The malleus is unique to mammals, and evolved from a lower jaw bone in basal amniotes called the articular, which still forms part of the jaw joint in reptiles.2 Embryologically it is derived from the first pharyngeal arch along with the rest of the bones of mastication, such as the maxilla and mandible.

Contents

Additional images

See also

References

  1. ^ hednk-023Embryology at UNC
  2. ^ Ramachandran, V. S. and Blakeslee, S. (1999) ‘'Phantoms in the Brain’', p. 210

External links

The Anatomy WizMalleus

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