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Related Concept Videos

The Auditory Ossicles01:11

The Auditory Ossicles

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The auditory ossicles of the middle ear transmit sounds from the air as vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlea. The auditory ossicles consist of two malleus (hammer) bones, two incus (anvil) bones, and two stapes (stirrups), one on each side. These bones develop during the fetal stage and are the ones to ossify first. They are fully mature at birth and do not grow afterward.
The aptly named stapes look very much like a stirrup. The three ossicles are unique to mammals, and each plays a role in...
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Compact Bone01:27

Compact Bone

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Most bones contain compact and spongy osseous tissue, but their distribution and concentration vary based on the bone's overall function.
Compact bone, also called cortical bone, is the denser, stronger of the two types of bone tissue. It is found under the periosteum and in the diaphyses of long bones, where it provides support and protection. The microscopic structural unit of compact bone is called an osteon, or haversian system. Each osteon is composed of concentric rings of calcified...
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Spongy Bone01:09

Spongy Bone

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All bones comprise an outer layer of compact bone, and an interior made up of spongy bone tissue, also called cancellous or trabecular bone. In long bones, spongy bone tissue is mainly found in the interior of the epiphyses (broad ends of the bone).
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Bone as Supporting Connective Tissue01:23

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Bone tissue forms the internal skeleton of vertebrate animals, providing structure to the body.
Bone Matrix
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Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification01:29

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Intramembranous ossification is one of the two processes involved in the development of bones within an embryo. The flat bones of the face, most of the cranial bones, and the clavicles are formed via this process. During intramembranous ossification, the bones develop directly from sheets of undifferentiated mesenchymal connective tissue.
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The Bone Matrix01:18

The Bone Matrix

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Bone contains a relatively small number of cells entrenched in a matrix of collagen fibers that provide an adherent surface for inorganic salt crystals. Both components of the matrix, organic and inorganic, contribute to the unusual properties of bone. Without collagen, bones would be brittle and shatter easily. Without mineral crystals, bones would flex and provide little support. This can be observed by an experiment: when the minerals of a bone are dissolved by soaking the bone in...
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Related Experiment Video

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Dissection of the Auditory Bulla in Postnatal Mice: Isolation of the Middle Ear Bones and Histological Analysis
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Bone quality and biomechanical function: a lesson from human ossicles.

François Duboeuf1, Brigitte Burt-Pichat1, Delphine Farlay1

  • 1INSERM UMR 1033, Equipe Qualité Osseuse et Marqueurs Biologiques, Lyon, France; Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.

Bone
|December 24, 2014
PubMed
Summary

The study reveals that healthy middle ear incus bones are dense and well-mineralized for sound transmission. Chronic inflammation degrades incus bone quality, impacting hearing, highlighting the need for early ear inflammation management.

Keywords:
ArchitectureHardnessHuman ossiclesIncus bone qualityMineralization

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Area of Science:

  • Orthopedics and Bone Biology
  • Otolaryngology
  • Biomaterials Science

Background:

  • The middle ear ossicles, particularly the incus, possess unique mechanical properties for sound transmission but their bone quality is understudied.
  • Chronic middle ear inflammation, such as cholesteatoma, can affect ossicle integrity and function, leading to hearing loss.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the bone microarchitecture, morphology, and quality of non-inflammatory human incuses with human femoral cortical bone controls.
  • To investigate the impact of chronic inflammation on the bone quality of middle ear incuses.

Main Methods:

  • Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) for assessing bone microarchitecture and bone mineral density (BMD).
  • Microindentation for measuring microhardness.
  • Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIR) for evaluating mineral and organic characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Non-inflammatory incuses exhibited higher BMD than both control bone and inflammatory incuses.
  • Inflammatory incuses showed degraded architecture with abundant organic tissue and fibrocellular infiltration.
  • Mineralization and carbonation were identified as key factors influencing incus microhardness, with crystallinity index and carbonation explaining 26% of microhardness variability.

Conclusions:

  • The dense, well-mineralized, and hard nature of healthy incuses is crucial for efficient sound transmission.
  • Chronic inflammation significantly degrades incus bone quality, contributing to hearing decline.
  • Early management of chronic otitis media is recommended to prevent irreversible ossicle degradation and preserve audition quality.