home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- A description of the human ear. The external ear consists of an
- expanded portion named pinna or auricle, and the auditory canal or
- meatus. The former serves to collect the vibrations of the air by
- which sound is produced, the latter conducts those vibrations to the
- tympanum. The pinna, or auricle, is of an ovoid form, with its larger
- end directed upward. Its outer surface is irregularly concave,
- directed slightly forward, and presents numerous eminences and
- depressions which result from the foldings of its fibrocartilaginous
- element. To each of these, names have been assigned. Thus the
- external prominent rim of the auricle is called the helix. Another
- curved prominence, parallel to and in front of the helix, is called
- the antihelix.
-