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Seven human stapes specimens obtained during pathological dissections were histologically processed. Tissue layer thicknesses (bone and cartilage) were measured at five points in longitudinal sections and three points in cross sections. Additional analyses of surrounding tissue area up to 100\u00a0\u03bcm from each point were conducted.  A total of 1400 individual measurements were included in the analysis of the human FP, comprising 350 measurements each for cartilage and bone layer thickness, as well as the determined cartilage and bone areas. The FP consisted of a flat epithelial layer, a bone layer facing the tympanic cavity, and a cartilage layer. The central total thickness was 118.06\u00a0\u03bcm, increasing by 36% toward the periphery. Bone composition was 40% centrally and larger peripherally at 56%. Cross sections showed more homogeneous distribution, with a total thickness of 73.44\u00a0\u03bcm and 42% bone. This first detailed qualitative and quantitative topographical tissue analysis of the FP confirms a bilayered bone-cartilage structure with increasing bone thickness toward the periphery. The findings provide critical insights into prosthetic coupling sites and support the development of optimized reconstructive strategies in middle ear surgery.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-026-43700-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T17:06:20Z","timestamp":1773939980000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The quantitative and qualitative histomorphological structure of human stapes footplate"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5256-1497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Max","family":"Kemper","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erdem","family":"T\u00fcrkeli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne","family":"Kluge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susanne Isabella","family":"G\u00fcnther","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Zahnert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marcus","family":"Neudert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"43700_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1177\/000348940111000106","volume":"110","author":"A Huber","year":"2001","unstructured":"Huber, A. et al. 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