3D Virtual Model of the Incudostapedial Joint in Humans

About the Incudostapedial Joint Model

This 3D model is a surface rendering of the structures that make up the incudostapedial complex: stapes tendon, stapes, distal incus including the pedicle and the plate, and the joint capsule. This model was created from 85 serial archival histological sections of the same 14-year-old male of the Temporal Bone and the Round Window models.

Several anatomical features become more obvious when viewed in 3D: (1) in the distal incus, the bony connection to the plate by a pedicle of bone, (2) the extent to which the capsular ligament wraps around the pedicle and plate, and (3) the notch in the bone of the distal incus on the anterior side below the level of the pedicle, which corresponds to an extension of the capsule ligament on the anterior side. There are also more blood vessels on the anterior side of the distal incus.