European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATIONS OF STAPES IN MALE CADAVER

Godson Kelechi P.*, Osunwoke Emeka A. and Gwunireama Israel U.

ABSTRACT

The transmission of sound waves across the tympanic cavity is mediated by three auditory ossicles which include; malleus, incus and stapes in a latero-medial sequence. These auditory ossicles transfer the sound vibrations in the tympanic membrane from the middle ear to the inner ear. They are located in the petrous part (pars petrosa) of the temporal bone and in the dorsal aspect of the tympanic membrane and form a chain across the tympanic cavity from tympanic membrane to fenestra vestibule (oval window). The study was aimed at providing the morphological variations of stapes in male cadaver. The middle ear of 20 adult male cadavers from the Department of Anatomy of various Universities in Nigeria were dissected bilaterally and 27 Stapes (R=10, L=17) were obtained to investigate their morphologic characteristics. The morphologic observations on the stapes showed different variations of all, one stapes did not have foramen obturatum. The knowledge of the variations of the stapes will provide insight for the surgeons during ear surgery which may have been congenitally absent, malformed, fixed, disrupted or destroyed by trauma or diseases.

Keywords: Stapes, Ossicles, morphology.