The fourth auditory ossicle: fact or fantasy?

Asherson, N.

doi:10.1017/s0022215100085625

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Asherson (1978) said that the Bfourth ossicle,^the ossicle of Sylvius between the incus and stapes, was Bdescribed and depicted in all books on anatomy or otology^until around 1900. About 1650, however, some doubt was already being expressed by Browne, who wrote, BHeere you may also see a parcell of the smallest bones, the incus, malleus and stapes, and especially the fourth small bone at the beginning of the stapes if you admitt of it with Sylvius for a distinct bone^[emphasis added].…”

Section: Previous Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Coupling Between the Incus and the Stapes in the Cat

Funnell

Siah

McKee

et al. 2005

JARO

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The connection between the long process and the lenticular process of the incus is extremely fine, so much so that some authors have treated the lenticular process as a separate bone. We review descriptions of the lenticular process that have appeared in the literature, and present some new histological observations. We discuss the dimensions and composition of the lenticular process and of the incudostapedial joint, and present estimates of the material properties for the bone, cartilage, and ligament of which they are composed. We present a preliminary finiteelement model which includes the lenticular plate, the bony pedicle connecting the lenticular plate to the long process, the head of the stapes, and the incudostapedial joint. The model has a much simplified geometry. We present simulation results for ranges of values for the material properties. We then present simulation results for this model when it is incorporated into an overall model of the middle ear of the cat. For the geometries and material properties used here, the bony pedicle is found to contribute significant flexibility to the coupling between the incus and the stapes.

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Section: Previous Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Coupling Between the Incus and the Stapes in the Cat

Funnell

Siah

McKee

et al. 2005

JARO

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“…This bone has also been known as the fourth ossicle at various points (6,8,10,11,14,16-20). In his 1683 text Traité de l’organe de l’ouïe , Guichard-Joseph Du Verney described this “fourth ossicle” as being of inconsiderable thickness, slightly convex on the side facing the stapes, and a little concave on the side that articulates with the tip of the incus (“le quatriéme osselet n’a presque point d’épaisseur; il est un peu convexe du costé qui regarde la teste de l’étrier, & tant soit peu cave du costé qui s’articule avec le bec de l’enclume”) (17) (Figure 3).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Despite the work of Blumenbach, Shrapnell, Hagenbach, and Hyrtl, controversy about the existence of a lenticular ossicle has persisted into the 20 th century (20,29–31). Gaudin, in a 1969 article about biophysical properties of the middle ear, wrote that “the lenticular process is the smallest bone in the human anatomy” and that it could “be considered as the fourth auditory ossicle” because of its independent structure and function (31).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Lenticular Process of the Incus

Graboyes¹,

Hullar²,

Chole³

2011

Otology &Amp; Neurotology

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17th century anatomists, including Franciscus Sylvius, identified a small bony structure between the distal end of the incus and the stapes that they believed was a separate and thus additional ossicle. The existence of the ossicle at the distal portion of the long process of the incus was controversial for the next two hundred years. In the 19th century, anatomists including Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, Henry Jones Shrapnell, Eduard Hagenbach, and Joseph Hyrtl provided numerous arguments to demonstrate why the so-called additional ossicle was actually attached to the incus by a thin strut, and thus not a separate bone. Since then, the ovoid end of the incus has been referred to as the “lenticular process” of the incus. The best nomenclature for the bony connection between the lenticular process and the rest of the incus remains uncertain, but the term “lenticular process” should not include its connecting pedicle.

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“…The most widely discussed of these additional ossicles was the “lenticular ossicle” (1,2). Although now recognized to represent the lenticular process forming the distal tip of the incus, its existence as a separate bone was a subject of controversy from the early 17 th century until the late 18 th and early 19 th century (3–9).…”

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The Ossicle of Paaw

Graboyes

Chole

Hullar

2011

Otology &Amp; Neurotology

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Some anatomists have reported more than three ossicles within the middle ear. The most widely discussed of these is the lenticular ossicle, which we now understand to be the lenticular process forming the distal tip of the long process of the incus. Another supernumerary ossicle, within the stapes tendon, has also been described by a number of anatomists. Here, we examine the history of this ossicle's discovery, sources of confusion concerning its existence in humans, and its presence in some mammalian species. We also discuss the variability in the nomenclature of supernumerary ossicles for historical accounts.

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The fourth auditory ossicle: fact or fantasy?

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

On the Coupling Between the Incus and the Stapes in the Cat

On the Coupling Between the Incus and the Stapes in the Cat

The Lenticular Process of the Incus

The Ossicle of Paaw

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