Where in the human body are the anvil and stirrups located? They are in the middle ear. The “anvil” is the incus, and the “stirrup” is the stapes—two of the three tiny auditory ossicles that connect the eardrum to the inner ear.
The ossicles work as a linked mechanical chain. Sound waves vibrate the eardrum, which moves the malleus, or hammer. The malleus passes that motion to the incus, which passes it to the stapes. The stapes presses against the oval window, transferring vibrations into the fluid-filled cochlea, where hearing begins.
These bones are among the smallest in the human body, and the stapes is generally considered the smallest. Their names come from Latin: incus means “anvil,” while stapes refers to a stirrup. A common mix-up is calling the entire ear an ossicle; technically, “ossicles” refers specifically to these three middle-ear bones. They are also found in other mammals.