What is the smallest bone in the human body, located in the middle ear?

The smallest bone in the human body, located in the middle ear, is the stapes.

The stapes is one of three auditory ossicles, the tiny bones that transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum toward the inner ear. The other two are the malleus, or hammer, and the incus, or anvil. Together, these bones form a delicate mechanical chain.

The stapes is the innermost ossicle. Its footplate sits against the oval window, an opening into the fluid-filled inner ear. Vibrations moving through the stapes create waves in the cochlea, where sensory cells help convert mechanical movement into nerve signals interpreted as sound.

Its name comes from the Latin word for stirrup because its shape resembles an equestrian stirrup. The stapes is also the lightest human bone. During development it forms from the second pharyngeal arch, and its central opening reflects the temporary presence of an embryonic artery that normally regresses.