Page "Middle ear" Paragraph 5

The middle ear contains three tiny bones known as the ossicles: malleus, incus, and stapes.

The ossicles were given their Latin names for their distinctive shapes ; they are also referred to as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, respectively.

The ossicles directly couple sound energy from the ear drum to the oval window of the cochlea.

While the stapes is present in all tetrapods, the malleus and incus evolved from lower and upper jaw bones present in reptiles.

See Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles.