The malleus, or hammer, is a hammer-shaped small bone or
ossicle of the
middle ear. It connects with the
incus, and is attached to the inner surface of the
eardrum. The word is Latin for 'hammer' or 'mallet'. It transmits the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the incus (anvil).
The malleus is a bone situated in the middle ear. It is the first of the three
ossicles, and attached to the
tympanic membrane. The head of the malleus is the large protruding section, which attaches to the
incus. The head connects to the neck of malleus. The bone continues as the handle (or manubrium) of malleus, which connects to the tympanic membrane.[1] Between the neck and handle of the malleus, lateral and anterior processes emerge from the bone.[2][3] The bone is oriented so that the head is superior and the handle is inferior.[3]
The malleus may be
palpated by
surgeons during
ear surgery.[1] It may become fixed in place due to surgical complications, causing hearing loss.[1] This may be corrected with further surgery.[1]
History
Several sources attribute the discovery of the malleus to the
anatomist and
philosopherAlessandro Achillini.[4][5] The first brief written description of the malleus was by
Berengario da Carpi in his Commentaria super anatomia Mundini (1521).[6]Niccolo Massa's Liber introductorius anatomiae[7] described the malleus in slightly more detail and likened both it and the
incus to little hammers terming them malleoli.[8]
^
abMitchell, Richard L. Drake, Wayne Vogl, Adam W. M. (2005). Gray's anatomy for students. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier. p. 862.
ISBN978-0-8089-2306-0.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)