Morphometrical And Morphological Variations Of Middle Ear Ossicles In The Newborn

[LANGUAGE= "English"] Purpose: Aim of this study was to investigate the morphometric and morphologic variations of middle ear ossicles.Materials and Methods: Middle ear of 20 newborn cadavers from both sexes were dissected bilaterally and the ossicles were obtained to investigate their morphometric and morphologic characteristics.Results: The average of morphometric parameters showed that the malleus was 7.69 mm in total length with an angle of 137o; the manibrium mallei was 4.70 mm, and the total length of head and neck was 4.85 mm; the incus had a total length of 6.47 mm, total width of 4.88 mm, and a maximal distance of 6.12 mm between the tops of the processes, with an angle of 99.9o; the stapes had a total height of 3.22 mm, with stapedial base being 2.57 mm in length and 1.29 mm in width. The morphologic observations on the ossicles showed that the incus was the most stable and the stapes was the most variable of all. As a variation, one stapes did not have foramen obturatum.Conclusion: The knowledge of the variations of the middle ear ossicles may be helpful during ear operations to improve hearing. The morphometrical data may also be useful for the classification of middle ear ossicles.