The Mobility of the Incudo-Malleolar Joint and Associated Middle-Ear Transmission Losses

Willi, Urban B.; Ferrazzini, Mattia; Huber, Alexander

doi:10.1142/9789812703019_0008

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Because joint flexibility introduces a reduction in stimulus-induced motion beyond the joint, the acoustic transmission through the middle ear might be expected to be reduced at all frequencies, leading to a broadband reduction in hearing sensitivity. Such a joint-induced reduction in middle-ear sound transmission at low frequencies is supported by observations of smaller stapes velocity relative to the velocity of the umbo that are over and above the action of the rotational lever connecting umbo and stapes (Goode et al, 1994;Willi et al, 2002Willi et al, , 2004.…”

Section: Three Ossicles and Ossicular-chain Flexibility: Functional Imentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Improvements in measurement technology have led to an enormous increase in our knowledge of ossicular physiology over the last 20 years Khanna, 1999, 2004;Willi et al, 2002Willi et al, , 2004. Here we focus on results relevant to the rigidity of the ossicular chain.…”

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two recent studies using laser-Doppler vibrometers (Decraemer and Khanna, 2004;Willi et al, 2002Willi et al, , 2004 report differences between the motions of the incus and malleus, indicating flexing of the incudo-mallealar (IM) joint. Willi et al (2002, Fig.…”

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10c), found in the cadaveric human ear that rotation of the incus is less than that of the malleus over a wide frequency range (0.5-10 kHz) with characteristic frequency dependence. Testing whether this reduction in motion is a consequence of joint flexibility, Willi et al (2004) remeasured malleus and incus rotation after infusing acrylic resin into the joint. The observed substantial reduction of the difference between malleus and incus motion at all frequencies supports the idea that the joint is the source of the relative motion.…”

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental ossicular fixations and the middle ear’s response to sound: Evidence for a flexible ossicular chain

et al. 2005

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Section: Three Ossicles and Ossicular-chain Flexibility: Functional Imentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Knowledge Of Mammalian Ossicular-chain Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Experimental ossicular fixations and the middle ear’s response to sound: Evidence for a flexible ossicular chain

et al. 2005

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“…46,47,[71][72][73] However, significant manubrial bending was not observed in the guinea pig ear, over the measured range of up to 45 kHz. 70 Flexibility within the human middle-ear apparatus Although movement at the human malleo-incudal joint at 'physiological' sound pressure levels has long been regarded as negligible, [74][75][76][77] 80 This malleo-incudal flexibility appears to be sufficient to explain the fact that tympanic membrane (umbo) velocity changes little with stapes fixation in humans, such that stapes fixation cannot be reliably diagnosed using tympanometry. 81 Flexibility elsewhere in the human ear in response to acoustic stimulation has been less extensively examined.…”

Section: Mammalian Middle Earsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexibility within the middle ears of vertebrates

Mason

Farr

2012

J. Laryngol. Otol.

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Introduction and aims: Tympanic middle ears have evolved multiple times independently among vertebrates, and share common features. We review flexibility within tympanic middle ears and consider its physiological and clinical implications.Comparative anatomy: The chain of conducting elements is flexible: even the 'single ossicle' ears of most nonmammalian tetrapods are functionally 'double ossicle' ears due to mobile articulations between the stapes and extrastapes; there may also be bending within individual elements.Simple models: Simple models suggest that flexibility will generally reduce the transmission of sound energy through the middle ear, although in certain theoretical situations flexibility within or between conducting elements might improve transmission. The most obvious role of middle-ear flexibility is to protect the inner ear from high-amplitude displacements.Clinical implications: Inter-ossicular joint dysfunction is associated with a number of pathologies in humans. We examine attempts to improve prosthesis design by incorporating flexible components.

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Details of human middle ear morphology based on micro‐CT imaging of phosphotungstic acid stained samples

Greef

Buytaert

Aerts

et al. 2015

Journal of Morphology

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A multitude of morphological aspects of the human middle ear (ME) were studied qualitatively and/or quantitatively through the postprocessing and interpretation of micro-CT (micro X-ray computed tomography) data of six human temporal bones. The samples were scanned after phosphotungstic acid staining to enhance soft-tissue contrast. The influence of this staining on ME ossicle configuration was shown to be insignificant. Through postprocessing, the image data were converted into surface models, after which the approaches diverged depending on the topics of interest. The studied topics were: the ME ligaments; morphometric and mechanical parameters of the ossicles relating to inertia and the ossicular lever arm ratio; the morphology of the distal incus; the contact surface areas of the tympanic membrane (TM) and of the stapes footplate; and the thickness of the TM, round window of the cochlea, ossicle joint spaces, and stapedial annular ligament. Some of the resulting insights are relevant in ongoing discussions concerning ME morphology and mechanical functions, while other results provide quantitative data to add to existing data. All findings are discussed in the light of other published data and many are relevant for the construction of mechanical finite element simulations of the ME.

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The Mobility of the Incudo-Malleolar Joint and Associated Middle-Ear Transmission Losses

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

Experimental ossicular fixations and the middle ear’s response to sound: Evidence for a flexible ossicular chain

Experimental ossicular fixations and the middle ear’s response to sound: Evidence for a flexible ossicular chain

Flexibility within the middle ears of vertebrates

Details of human middle ear morphology based on micro‐CT imaging of phosphotungstic acid stained samples

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