What is a clatter bone?

A clatter bone is the malleus, which is one of the three smallest bones in the human body. The malleus forms one of the joints in the middle ear that transmits sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. Another of the three smallest bones in the body - the incus - comes from Latin for ‘anvil’, while the last one - the stapes - comes from a word meaning ‘stirrup’. These names arise from the shapes of those bones.