Kuulmisluukeste

Kuulmisluukeste, known in English as ossicles or auditory ossicles, are three small bones found in the middle ear of mammals. These bones, the malleus, incus, and stapes, are crucial for the transmission of sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear.

The malleus, or hammer, is attached to the eardrum and articulates with the incus. The incus, or anvil, connects the malleus to the stapes. The stapes, or stirrup, is the smallest bone in the human body and is attached to the oval window, an opening into the cochlea of the inner ear.

When sound waves strike the eardrum, they cause it to vibrate. These vibrations are then transferred to the malleus, then to the incus, and finally to the stapes. The stapes, by vibrating against the oval window, transmits these vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea. Within the cochlea, these vibrations stimulate hair cells, which convert them into electrical signals that are sent to the brain via the auditory nerve, where they are interpreted as sound.

The ossicles amplify the vibrations from the eardrum, which is a relatively large surface area, to the much smaller oval window. This amplification is essential for efficient transfer of sound energy from air to the fluid of the inner ear, allowing us to hear a wide range of sound frequencies and intensities. Diseases or trauma affecting the ossicles can lead to conductive hearing loss.