the smallest bone in the human body can be found in the middle ear.
where can we find the smallest bone in the human body?
in the middle ear
the stapes is the third bone of the three ossicles in the middle ear. the stapes is a stirrup-shaped bone, and the smallest in the human body. it rests on the oval window, to which it is connected by an annular ligament. the stapes is described as having a base, resting on the oval window, as well as a head that articulates with the incus. these are connected by anterior and posterior limbs (). the stapes articulates with the incus through the incudostapedial joint. the stapes is the smallest bone in the human body, and measures roughly 3 x 2.5mm, greater along the head-base span.
stapes
stapedius muscle





























the stapedius is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body. at just over one millimeter in length, its purpose is to stabilize the smallest bone in the body, the stapes.





























section::::structure.





























the stapedius emerges from a pinpoint foramen in the apex of the pyramidal eminence (a hollow, cone-shaped prominence in the posterior wall of the tympanic cavity), and inserts into the neck of the stapes. 





























section::::structure.:nerve supply.





























the stapedius is supplied by the nerve to stapedius, a branch of the facial nerve. 





























section::::function.
stapedius muscle