malleus

/ˈmæliəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmæliəs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈma-lē-əs/ (ame, mw)

malleus — noun

  • malleussingular
  • malleusesplural

1. a hammer-shaped tiny bone, fixed to the inside of the eardrum, which sits within

1.名詞C2
釋義

a hammer-shaped tiny bone, fixed to the inside of the eardrum, which sits within the middle-ear cavity and passes the eardrum's vibrations along to the next two bones (the incus and stapes) and then on towards the inner ear.

例句

In anatomy class, Mizuki labelled the malleus, incus, and stapes on the diagram of the middle ear.

listed alongside incus + stapes — the three ossicles

The surgeon explained that Ramón's hearing loss was caused by damage to the malleus during a childhood infection.

medical context: damage causing hearing loss

同義詞
  • hammer

    everyday English nickname for the same bone; common in popular science writing

  • ossicle

    broader term — any of the three small middle-ear bones, not just the malleus

文法句型

the malleus

用法筆記

Almost always used with the definite article ('the malleus'). Frequently appears in a list with its two neighbouring ossicles, 'incus' and 'stapes', when describing the middle-ear hearing chain.

常見錯誤

❌The malleus is in the inner ear.
✅The malleus is in the middle ear.
💡the malleus sits in the middle ear cavity; the inner ear holds the cochlea, not the ossicles.
❌a malleus muscle
✅the tensor tympani muscle attaches to the malleus
💡the malleus is a bone, not a muscle; muscles attach TO it.