L10

Ossicles

The smallest bones in the human body: malleus, incus, and stapes.

Ossicular chain

A linkage formed by the ossicles that enables transmission of acoustic energy from the tympanic membrane to the oval window.

Transducer

A device that changes energy from one form to another; in the middle ear, it transforms acoustic energy to mechanical energy.

Stapes footplate

The part of the stapes that transduces mechanical energy from the ossicular chain to hydraulic energy in the inner ear.

Oval window

An opening between the air-filled middle ear and the fluid-filled inner ear through which sound is transmitted.

Round window

A membrane-covered opening in the bone separating the middle ear from the inner ear.

Promontory

A bony prominence that separates the oval and round windows.

Eustachian tube

A tube that connects the middle ear cavity to the nasopharynx, maintaining equal pressure on both sides of the tympanic membrane.

Tensor tympanic and stapedius muscles

The smallest muscles in the human body, located in the middle ear.

Length of Eustachian tube in adults

Approximately 3.7 cm long and normally closed to prevent infections from the nasopharynx.