The auditory ossicles (the incus, malleus, and stapes) are the bones of the middle |ear|. Their Latin names describe their shapes. The incus is shaped like an anvil. The malleus is shaped like a hammer and the stapes is shaped like a stirrup. They are the smallest bones in the human body. The three bones connect to form a bridge between the |tympanic membrane| (eardrum) and the |oval window|. They work with a system of membranes to convey sound vibrations to the inner |ear|. When sound waves cause the |tympanic membrane| to vibrate, the vibrations move the malleus (hammer), which in turn moves the incus (anvil). The incus moves the stapes (stirrups) which is attached to the |oval window|. The sound is then passed to the inner |ear|. The leverage of the middle |ear| bones increases the intensity of the sound wave by 5 ~decibels~ before the wave is funneled toward the |oval window|.
