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Middle ear bone. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the human middle ear, showing the stapes (ring-shaped). The stapes is one of three bones (known as the ossicles) in the middle ear that conduct sound waves from the outer ear to the inner ear. Vibrations from the eardrum are passed to the malleus and then the stapes via the incus. The stapes transmits these vibrations to the fluid-filled cochlear of the inner ear where they are converted to nerve impulses. Magnification: x100 when printed 10 centimetres wide. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)