Columella (auditory system)

In the auditory system, the columella contributes to hearing in amphibians, reptiles and birds. The columella form thin, bony structures in the interior of the skull and serve the purpose of transmitting sounds from the eardrum. It is an evolutionary homolog of the stapes, one of the auditory ossicles in mammals.

In many species, the extracolumella is a cartilaginous structure that grows in association with the columella. During development, the columella is derived from the dorsal end of the hyoid arch.^[1]