Incus

Anvil, Incus
Malleus Tensor tympani Incus Stapedius Labyrinth Stapes Auditory canal Tympanic membrane (Ear drum) Eustachian tube Tympanic cavity Bones and muscles in the tympanic cavity in the middle ear
Left incus. A. From within. B. From the front.
Auditory tube, laid open by a cut in its long axis.
Details
Precursor	1st branchial arch
Articulations	Incudomalleolar and incudostapedial joint
Identifiers
Latin	Incus
MeSH	A09.246.397.247.362
TA	A15.3.02.038
FMA	52752
Anatomical terms of bone []

The anvil or incus /ˈɪŋkəs/ is a bone in the middle ear. The anvil-shaped small bone is one of three ossicles in the middle ear. The incus receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the stapes, medially. The incus is so-called because of its resemblance to an anvil (Latin: Incus).

The incus is the second of the ossicles, three bones in the middle ear which act to transmit sound. It is shaped like an anvil, and has a long limb and a short limb that protrude from the point of articulation with the malleus.

Vibrations in the middle ear are received via the tympanic membrane. The malleus, resting on the membrane, conveys vibrations to the incus. This in turn conveys vibrations to the stapes.

Incus means "anvil" in Latin. Several sources attribute the discovery of the incus to the anatomist and philosopher Alessandro Achillini. The first brief written description of the incus was by Berengario da Carpi in his Commentaria super anatomia Mundini (1521).Andreas Vesalius, in his De humani corporis fabrica, was the first to compare the second element of the ossicles to an anvil, thereby giving it the name incus. The final part of the long limb, was once described as a "fourth ossicle" by Pieter Paaw in 1615.