Which auditory ossicle is also known as the anvil?

Which auditory ossicle is also known as the anvil?

• A. Malleus
• B. Stapes
• C. Incus
• D. Pinna

Answer: (C)

Sound is carried from the eardrum through a small chain of three tiny bones in the middle ear. The bone that gets its name from its shape as a blacksmith’s tool—the anvil—is the incus. It sits between the hammer (malleus) and the stirrup (stapes), passing vibrations along and helping to amplify them as they move into the inner ear through the oval window. The pinna, by contrast, is part of the outer ear and isn’t involved in the middle-ear ossicle chain.

Sound is carried from the eardrum through a small chain of three tiny bones in the middle ear. The bone that gets its name from its shape as a blacksmith’s tool—the anvil—is the incus. It sits between the hammer (malleus) and the stirrup (stapes), passing vibrations along and helping to amplify them as they move into the inner ear through the oval window. The pinna, by contrast, is part of the outer ear and isn’t involved in the middle-ear ossicle chain.