Stapedius muscle

Stapedius
The medial wall and part of the posterior and anterior walls of the right tympanic cavity, lateral view.
Bones and muscles in the tympanic cavity in the middle ear
Details
OriginWalls of pyramidal eminence
InsertionNeck of stapes
ArteryStapedial branch of posterior auricular artery
NerveFacial nerve (nerve to stapedius)
ActionsControl the amplitude of sound waves to the inner ear
Identifiers
Latinmusculus stapedius
MeSHD013198
TA98A15.3.02.062
TA22103
FMA49027
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.

  1. ^ 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.