Bone: Incus
Left incus. A. From within. B. From the front.
Auditory tube, laid open by a cut in its long axis.
Malleus Tensor Tympani Incus Stapedius Labyrinth Stapes Auditory Canal Tympanic Membrane (Ear Drum) Eustachian Tube Tympanic cavity
Bones and muscles in the tympanic cavity in the middle ear
Gray's	subject #231 1044
Precursor	1st branchial arch[1]
MeSH	Incus

For the record label, see Incus Records.

The incus or anvil is the anvil-shaped small bone or ossicle in the middle ear. It connects the malleus to the stapes. It was first described by Alessandro Achillin of Bologna.

The incus transmits sound vibrations from the malleus to the stapes. The incus only exists in mammals, and is derived from a reptilian upper jaw bone, the quadrate bone. Embryologically it is derived from the first pharyngeal arch along with the rest of the bones of mastication, such as the maxilla and mandible.

[edit] Additional images

Head and neck of a human embryo eighteen weeks old, with Meckel’s cartilage and hyoid bar 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.

Ossicles

[edit] See also

• Bone terminology
• Terms for anatomical location
• Evolution_of_mammalian_auditory_ossicles

[edit] References

1. ^ hednk-023 — Embryology at UNC

[edit] External links

The Anatomy WizIncus

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