All three, the hammer, anvil and stirrup are found in the middle ear. They are small bones that lead from the ear drum to the cochlea, in the inner ear.
The first bone, the one that butts up against the ear drum, is the hammer, which is shaped rather like a hammer. This 'strikes' the next bone, the anvil, which connects against the third smaller bone, the stirrup, which looks just like the stirrup you use when riding a horse.
The function of all three bones is to pass the vibration of air that impacts on the ear drum and pass it on to the fluid inside the cochlea. This fluid filled spiral tube transmits vibrations from the middle ear to the senstive hair cells that line the cochlea, where movement is converted to a nerve signal. This passes through the auditory nerve to the brain and is converted to sound.
The first bone, the one that butts up against the ear drum, is the hammer, which is shaped rather like a hammer. This 'strikes' the next bone, the anvil, which connects against the third smaller bone, the stirrup, which looks just like the stirrup you use when riding a horse.
The function of all three bones is to pass the vibration of air that impacts on the ear drum and pass it on to the fluid inside the cochlea. This fluid filled spiral tube transmits vibrations from the middle ear to the senstive hair cells that line the cochlea, where movement is converted to a nerve signal. This passes through the auditory nerve to the brain and is converted to sound.
