Definition of "malleus" [‖Mal•le•us]

• The hammer-shaped bone that is the outermost of the three small bones in the mammalian middle ear. Also called hammer. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The bridge of bones, being pivoted at one point to the walls of the middle ear, forms a lever in which the malleus is the long arm, and the incus and stapes the short arm, their ratio being about that of three to two."
• "Connected with the malleus is another small bone, called the incus, or anvil, which is connected with another, called the stapes, or stirrup, from its shape."
• "The peripheral system includes the external ear (auricle and ear canal), the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, the middle ear (three small and connected bones: malleus, incus, and stapes), the oval window boundary, and the inner ear (vestibular system and cochlea)."