Incus Berengario da Carpi in his "Commentaria super anatomia Mundini" (1521). Andreas Vesalius, in his "De humani corporis fabrica", was the first to compare the second element of the ossicles to an anvil, thereby giving it the name "incus". The final part of the long limb was once described as a "fourth ossicle" by Pieter Paaw in 1615. Incus The incus or anvil is a bone in the middle ear. The anvil-shaped small bone is one of three ossicles in the middle ear. The "incus" receives vibrations from the malleus, to which it is connected laterally, and transmits these to the
Anvil for specialized work. The "step" is that area of the anvil between the "horn" and the "face". It is soft and is used for cutting; its purpose is to prevent damaging the steel face of the anvil by conducting such operations there and so as not to damage the cutting edge of the chisel, though many smiths shun this practice as it will damage the anvil over time. The "hardie hole" is a square hole into which specialized forming and cutting tools, called Hardy tools, are placed. It is also used in punching and bending operations. The "pritchel hole" is