Library · Anatomy
Outer ear
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The outer ear is the outside part of the hearing system, and it has three parts: the auricle, that is, the ear you can see; the external auditory canal, the tunnel that follows; and the outer surface of the tympanic membrane, the eardrum.
The auricle works like a funnel: it steers sound toward the canal, and the canal focuses it on the tympanic membrane. Its folds are not decoration. They change how the waves reflect before they go in, and that gives clues about where the sound is coming from.
The canal also cleans itself. Its epithelium, the layer of cells that lines it, keeps migrating outward and carries cerumen, or earwax, and debris all the way out. It is a conveyor belt pushing outward.
In brief
The outer ear comprises the auricle, the external auditory canal and the outer surface of the tympanic membrane.
The auricle, with its folds, works as a funnel that steers sound into the canal, and the canal focuses it on the tympanic membrane; those features change how the waves reflect and give clues about where the sound comes from.
The canal cleans itself: its epithelium migrates outward, carrying cerumen and debris out.
The canal is a conveyor belt pushing toward the exit.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnatomy, Head and Neck: External Ear, StatPearlsPublished
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