Malleus

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.)
Details
Precursor	1st branchial arch
Identifiers
Latin	Malleus
MeSH	D008307
TA98	A15.3.02.043
TA2	881
FMA	52753
Anatomical terms of bone

For other uses, see Malleus (disambiguation).

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. Embryologically it is derived from the first pharyngeal arch along with the rest of the bones of mastication, such as the maxilla and mandible.

Additional images

• 
  Ossicles
• 
  Head and neck of a human embryo eighteen weeks old, with Meckel's cartilage and hyoid bone exposed.
• 
  External and middle ear, opened from the front. Right side.
• 
  Chain of ossicles and their ligaments, seen from the front in a vertical, transverse section of the tympanum.

See also

• Bone terminology
• Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles
• Terms for anatomical location

External links

The Anatomy Wiz Malleus