| Stapedius | |
|---|---|
 The medial wall and part of the posterior and anterior walls of the right tympanic cavity, lateral view. | |
Stapedius
Bones and muscles in the tympanic cavity in the middle ear | |
| Details | |
| Origin | Walls of pyramidal eminence |
| Insertion | Neck of stapes |
| Artery | Stapedial branch of posterior auricular artery |
| Nerve | Facial nerve (nerve to stapedius) |
| Actions | Control the amplitude of sound waves to the inner ear |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | musculus stapedius |
| MeSH | D013198 |
| TA98 | A15.3.02.062 |
| TA2 | 2103 |
| FMA | 49027 |
| Anatomical terms of muscle | |
The stapedius is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body.[1] At just over one millimeter in length, its purpose is to stabilize the smallest bone in the body, the stapes or stirrup bone of the middle ear.
- ^ Rea, Paul (2016). "Head". Essential Clinically Applied Anatomy of the Peripheral Nervous System in the Head and Neck. Elsevier. p. 78. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-803633-4.00002-8. ISBN 978-0-12-803633-4.
The stapedius is the smallest skeletal muscle in the body and is approx- imately 1 mm in length.