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external ear
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Diagram of the human ear showing how sound waves travel through the outer ear and auditory canal to the tympanic membrane, causing vibrations in the ossicles, and then through the middle and inner ear, including the cochlea. Color-coded sections highlight the outer ear in orange, middle ear in pink, and inner ear in blue. Cross-section diagram of the human ear showing the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, with labeled parts including the auricle, auditory canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles, cochlea, semicircular canals, and nerves.
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external ear

anatomy
Also known as: outer ear
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Diagram of the human ear showing how sound waves travel through the outer ear and auditory canal to the tympanic membrane, causing vibrations in the ossicles, and then through the middle and inner ear, including the cochlea. Color-coded sections highlight the outer ear in orange, middle ear in pink, and inner ear in blue.
human ear canal In human hearing, sound waves enter the outer ear and travel through the external auditory canal. When the waves reach the tympanic membrane, they cause the membrane and the attached chain of auditory ossicles to vibrate. The motion of the stapes against the oval window sets up waves in the fluids of the cochlea, causing the basilar membrane to vibrate. This stimulates the sensory cells of the organ of Corti, atop the basilar membrane, to send nerve impulses to the brain.

The auricle, or the visible part of the external ear, is composed of elastic cartilage covered by skin. It forms a funnel shape with ridges and hollows, the deepest being the concha, which leads to the external auditory canal. The fleshy lower part, the lobule, lacks cartilage. While humans have small muscles attached to the auricle, they are generally nonfunctional. The external auditory canal is a tube extending from the auricle to the tympanic membrane, lined with skin that produces earwax.123

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6 Britannica Sources
  1. auricle
  2. tympanic membrane
  3. external auditory canal
  4. human ear - Outer ear
  5. auricle
  6. human ear - Auditory ossicles

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