What does stapes mean?
The stapes is the smallest of the three bones in the human middle ear. Its name reflects its resemblance to a stirrup, and its position at the end of the middle-ear chain allows it to transmit vibrations from the incus to the oval window of the inner ear. In this function, it acts as a highly specialized mechanical link between the outer and inner ear. The term is used especially by audiologists and ear specialists, as well as in discussions of otosclerosis, a condition in which abnormal bone growth can limit the stapes's movement and cause hearing loss. Surgical treatments such as stapedectomy or stapedotomy involve the bone, sometimes replacing it with a prosthesis. Although the stapes is only about three millimetres long, its role is crucial to converting airborne sound into the fluid movement that makes hearing possible.
nounThe stapes is the smallest bone in the human middle ear, a stirrup-shaped structure that transfers sound vibrations from the incus to the fluid of the inner ear.
- The stirrup-shaped bone of the middle ear, situated between the incus and the oval window of the inner ear.
"The surgeon replaced the damaged stapes with a small prosthesis that restored the patient's hearing."
"Otosclerosis can restrict the movement of the stapes and gradually impair hearing."
"A stapes prosthesis can bypass a damaged bone and transmit sound into the inner ear."
The anatomical noun has the same singular and plural form: one stapes, two stapes.
"The stapes on the left side was replaced during the operation."
The body's smallest bone is also a precision transmitter: the stapes passes vibrations from the middle ear into the inner ear.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stapes come from?
The word comes through New Latin from Latin stapes, meaning “stirrup.” Latin stapes is associated with elements meaning “stand” and “foot,” an appropriate description of a stirrup-shaped structure. The anatomical sense developed from the bone's resemblance to a stirrup, while terms such as stapedial and stapedectomy retain the same Latin-derived root.
Related word forms
How stapes is actually used
The word is chiefly used in medicine, anatomy, audiology, and otology. In anatomical contexts it is usually treated as a noun whose plural is also stapes.