Editing Stapes (section)

==Structure==
{{See also|Ossicles}}
[[File:Stapes human ear.jpg|thumb|The size of the ''stapes'', compared with a 10-cent [[euro]] coin.]]

The ''stapes'' is the third bone of the three [[ossicles]] in the [[middle ear]] and the smallest in the human body. It measures roughly {{nowrap|2 to 3 mm}}, greater along the head-base span.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Àwengen |first1=D. F. |last2=Nishihara |first2=S. |last3=Kurokawa |first3=H. |last4=Goode |first4=R. L. |title=Measurements of the stapes superstructure |journal=The Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology |date=April 1995 |volume=104 |issue=4 Pt 1 |pages=311–6 |pmid=7717624 |doi=10.1177/000348949510400411|s2cid=43418740 }}</ref> It rests on the [[oval window]], to which it is connected by an [[annular ligament of stapes|annular ligament]] and articulates with the ''[[incus]]'', or anvil through the [[incudostapedial joint]].<ref name=CHAPMAN2011/> They are connected by anterior and posterior limbs ({{langx|la|crura}}).<ref name=GRAYS2005>{{cite book |last=Drake |first=Richard L. |title=[[Gray's Anatomy for Students]] |year=2005 |publisher=Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-0-8089-2306-0 |author2=Vogl, Wayne |author3=Tibbitts, Adam W. M. Mitchell |others=Illustrations by Richard Tibbitts and Paul Richardson}}</ref>{{rp|862}}  

===Development===
The ''stapes'' develops from the second [[pharyngeal arch]] during the sixth to eighth week of [[embryo|embryological life]]. The central cavity of the ''stapes'', the ''obturator foramen'', is due to the presence embryologically of the [[stapedial artery]], which usually regresses in humans during normal development.<ref name=CHAPMAN2011>{{cite journal |last=Chapman |first=S. C.|title=Can you hear me now? Understanding vertebrate middle ear development |journal=Frontiers in Bioscience |date=January 1, 2011 |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=1675–92 |pmid=21196256 |doi=10.2741/3813 |pmc=3065862}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Rodriguez-Vazquez |first=J. F. |title=Development of the stapes and associated structures in human embryos |journal=Journal of Anatomy |date=August 2005 |volume=207 |issue=2 |pages=165–173 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7580.2005.00441.x |pmid=16050903 |pmc=1571512}}</ref>

===Animals===
{{See also|Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles}}
The ''stapes'' is one of three ossicles in mammals. In non-mammalian [[tetrapod|tetrapods]], the bone [[Homology (biology)|homologous]] to the ''stapes'' is usually called the [[columella (auditory system)|columella]]; however, in [[reptile]]s, either term may be used. In fish, the homologous bone is called the [[hyomandibula]]r, and is part of the [[gill arch]] supporting either the [[Spiracle (vertebrates)|spiracle]] or the jaw, depending on the species. The equivalent term in [[amphibian]]s is the ''{{lang|la|pars media plectra}}''.<ref name=CHAPMAN2011/><ref name=VB>{{cite book
|last1= Romer |first1 =Alfred Sherwood |last2 = Parsons |first2 = Thomas S
|publisher = Holt-Saunders International |year = 1977 |location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|title=The Vertebrate Body
|isbn= 978-0-03-910284-5
}}</ref>{{rp|481–482}}

===Variation===
The ''stapes'' appears to be relatively constant in size in different ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arensburg |first1=B. |last2=Harell |first2=M. |last3=Nathan |first3=H. |title=The human middle ear ossicles: Morphometry, and taxonomic implications |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |date=February 1981 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=199–205 |doi=10.1016/S0047-2484(81)80018-8|bibcode=1981JHumE..10..199A }}</ref> In 0.01–0.02% of people, the stapedial artery does not regress, and persists in the central foramen.<ref name=MUTLU1998>{{cite journal |last1=Mutlu |first1=C. |last2=da Costa |first2=S. S. |author3=Paparella, MM |author4=Schachern, Pennsylvania |title=Clinical-histopathological correlations of pitfalls in middle ear surgery. |journal=European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology |year=1998 |volume=255 |issue=4 |pages=189–194 |pmid=9592676 |doi=10.1007/s004050050041|s2cid=25682582 }}</ref> In this case, a pulsatile sound may be heard in the affected ear, or there may be no symptoms at all.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Silbergleit |first1=R. |last2=Quint |first2=D. J. |last3=Mehta |first3=B. A. |last4=Patel |first4=S. C. |last5=Metes |first5=J. J. |last6=Noujaim |first6=S. E. |title=The persistent stapedial artery |journal=American Journal of Neuroradiology|date=Mar 2000 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=572–577 |pmid=10730654|pmc=8174972 }}</ref> Rarely, the ''stapes'' may be completely absent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reiber |first1=M. |last2=Schwaber |first2=M. |title=Congenital absence of stapes and facial nerve dehiscence |journal=Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery |date=February 1997 |volume=116 |issue=2 |pages=278 |doi=10.1016/S0194-5998(97)70343-7 |pmid=9051082|s2cid=33351053 }}</ref><ref name=TMS2008 />{{rp|262}}