Stapes

The stapes is a small middle-ear bone that transmits vibrations from the incus to the oval window of the inner ear. Its footplate helps couple sound vibrations into cochlear fluid.

Oval window: A membrane-covered opening between the middle ear and the vestibule of the inner ear. The stapes footplate presses on this opening to pass vibrations into the inner ear.
Middle ear: An air-filled space containing the auditory ossicles and connecting the outer ear to the inner ear. The stapes sits in this space and forms its boundary with the inner ear.
Otosclerosis: An abnormal remodeling of bone in the otic capsule that can fix the stapes and cause conductive hearing loss. Stapes fixation is a common way this disorder impairs sound transmission.
Incudostapedial joint: The joint connecting the incus to the head of the stapes. It is the direct mechanical connection through which the incus moves the stapes.
Incus: The middle-ear bone between the malleus and stapes that conducts sound vibrations. It delivers vibrations to the stapes through their joint.
Auditory ossicles: The three small bones of the middle ear: malleus, incus, and stapes. The stapes is one of these three bones.
Stapedectomy: An operation that removes the stapes and replaces it with a prosthesis to improve sound conduction. It bypasses a stapes that cannot move normally.
Stapedius muscle: A small middle-ear muscle that attaches to the stapes and can reduce its movement. Unlike the stapes, it is contractile tissue; its action helps dampen sound transmission.
Ossicular chain: The linked malleus, incus, and stapes that conduct and amplify vibrations across the middle ear. The stapes is the chain’s final bone before sound enters the inner ear.
Malleus: The middle-ear bone attached to the eardrum that passes vibrations to the incus. It begins the ossicular pathway that ends at the stapes.

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Mammalian middle earBroader topic: Its footplate delivers ossicle motion to cochlear fluid.