ABSTRACT

The pinna (auricle), external auditory canal (EAC), and the tympanic membrane form the external ear apparatus (Figure 13.1). The surface anatomy of all these structures can be seen easily on direct clinical and otoscopic examination and hence the diagnosis of many external ear diseases is a clinical one. The pinna is the visible part of the ear that resides outside the head and is essentially a skin-covered flap of cartilage. It amplifies and funnels sound into the EAC.