incus

American  

[ing-kuhs] / ˈɪŋ kəs /

noun

plural

incudes, incus

1. Anatomy. the middle one of a chain of three small bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals.

2. Also called thunderhead.  Also called anvil.  Also called anvil cloud.  Also called anvil top,.  the spreading, anvil-shaped, upper portion of a mature cumulonimbus cloud, smooth or slightly fibrous in appearance.

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incus British  

/ ˈɪŋkəs, ˈɪŋkjʊˌdeɪt, ˈɪŋkjʊdəl /

noun

1. Nontechnical name: anvil.  the central of the three small bones in the middle ear of mammals Compare malleus stapes

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incus Scientific  

/ ĭng-kyo̅o̅′dēz /

plural

incudes

1. The anvil-shaped bone (ossicle) that lies between the malleus and the stapes in the middle ear.

2. The elongated, often anvil-shaped upper portion of a fully developed cumulonimbus cloud; a thunderhead.

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Other Word Forms

• incudal adjective
• incudate adjective

Etymology

Origin of incus

1660–70; < New Latin, Latin incūs anvil, equivalent to incūd- (stem of incūdere to hammer, beat upon) + -s nominative singular ending; incuse

Example Sentences

The auditory ossicles consist of three bones each: the malleus, incus, and stapes.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The incus attaches the malleus to the stapes.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Without the malleus and incus, sound waves would not be collected by the tympanum.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The illustration shows the three bones of the inner ear, the malleus, the incus, and the stapes, which are connected together inside the ear canal.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Caldani mentions a case with the incus and malleus deficient, and Scarpa and Torreau quote instances of deficient ossicles.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)