Editing Ear (section)

===Outer ear===
{{main|Outer ear}}
The outer ear is the external portion of the ear and includes the fleshy visible [[Auricle (anatomy)|auricle]], the ear canal, and the outer layer of the eardrum (also called the tympanic membrane).<ref name="GRAYS40TH_36" /><ref name=GRAYS2005>{{cite book|last=Drake|first=Richard L.|title=Gray's anatomy for students|year=2005|publisher=Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-8089-2306-0|pages=855–856|author2=Vogl, Wayne |author3=Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell  |author4=illustrations by Richard |author5= Richardson, Paul }}</ref>

The auricle consists of the curving outer rim called the [[helix (ear)|helix]], the inner curved rim called the [[antihelix]], and opens into the ear canal. The [[tragus (ear)|tragus]] protrudes and partially obscures the ear canal, as does the facing [[antitragus]]. The hollow region in front of the ear canal is called the concha. The ear canal stretches for about 1{{Nbsp}}inch (2.5{{Nbsp}}cm). The first part of the canal is surrounded by [[cartilage]], while the second part near the eardrum is surrounded by [[bone]]. This bony part is known as the [[auditory bulla]] and is formed by the [[tympanic part of the temporal bone]]. The ear canal ends at the external surface of the eardrum, while the surrounding skin contains [[ceruminous gland|ceruminous]] and [[sebaceous gland]]s that produce protective [[earwax]].<ref name="GRAYS2005" /> Earwax naturally migrates outward through ear canal, constituting a self-cleaning system.<ref name="Shmerling 2017 i652">{{cite web |last=Shmerling |first=Robert H. |date=2017-05-17 |title=3 reasons to leave earwax alone |url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/3-reasons-to-leave-earwax-alone-2017051711718 |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Harvard Health}}</ref><ref name="Keck Medicine of USC 2022 s129">{{cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=Why Do I Have So Much Earwax? |url=https://internalmedicine.usc.edu/blog/why-do-i-have-so-much-earwax/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Keck Medicine of USC}}</ref><ref name="HealthLink BC 2021 t871">{{cite web |date=2021-07-01 |title=Earwax |url=https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/earwax |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=HealthLink BC}}</ref><ref name="MyHealth.Alberta.ca 2023 a639">{{cite web |date=2023-07-11 |title=Earwax |url=https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=earwx |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=MyHealth.Alberta.ca |ref={{sfnref | MyHealth.Alberta.ca | 2023}}}}</ref>

Two sets of muscles are associated with the outer ear: the [[Outer ear#Intrinsic muscles|intrinsic]] and [[Outer ear#Extrinsic muscles|extrinsic]] muscles. In some mammals, these muscles can adjust the direction of the pinna.<ref name= GRAYS2005 /> In humans, these muscles have little or no effect.<ref name=Moore>{{cite book|vauthors=Moore KL, Dalley AF, Agur AM |date=2013|title=Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 7th ed.|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|pages=848–849|isbn=978-1-4511-8447-1}}</ref> The ear muscles are supplied by the [[facial nerve]], which also supplies sensation to the skin of the ear itself, as well as to the external ear cavity. The [[great auricular nerve]], [[auricular branch of vagus nerve|auricular nerve]], [[auriculotemporal nerve]], and [[lesser occipital nerve|lesser]] and [[greater occipital nerve]]s of the [[cervical plexus]] all supply sensation to parts of the outer ear and the surrounding skin.<ref name= GRAYS2005 />

The auricle consists of a single piece of [[elastic cartilage]] with a complicated relief on its inner surface and a fairly smooth configuration on its posterior surface. A [[tubercle (anatomy)|tubercle]], known as [[Darwin's tubercle]], is sometimes present, lying in the descending part of the helix and corresponding to the ear-tip of mammals. The [[earlobe]] consists of [[loose connective tissue|areola]] and [[adipose tissue]].<ref>Stenström, J. Sten: Deformities of the ear; In: Grabb, W., C., Smith, J.S. (Edited): "Plastic Surgery", Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1979, {{ISBN|0-316-32269-5}} (C), {{ISBN|0-316-32268-7}} (P)</ref> The symmetrical arrangement of the two ears allows for the [[sound localization|localisation of sound]]. The brain accomplishes this by comparing [[interaural time difference|arrival-times]] and [[intensity (physics)|intensities]] from each ear, in circuits located in the [[superior olivary complex]] and the [[Trapezoid body|trapezoid bodies]], which are connected via pathways to both ears.<ref name="purves">{{cite book|last1=Purves|first1=D.|title=Neuroscience|date=2007|publisher=Sinauer|location=New York|isbn=978-0-87893-697-7|pages=332–336|edition=4th}}</ref>
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