Acquired disruptions of the incudostapedial articulation

Acquired disruptions of the incudostapedial articulation may have either a traumatic or an inflammatory etiology. Those of traumatic origin are commonly unassociated with any other evidence of trauma and most likely result from simultaneous tetanic contractions of both the tensor tympani and stapedius tendons. Inflammatory disruptions result from enzymatic degradation. Although they may appear similar to the traumatic variety, in most cases the articulation instead appears widened and can be associated with fibrous replacement. All ten cases were best demonstrated in the axial plane due to the innate obliquity of the articulation