Auriculares muscles

The Auriculares muscles are the three muscles surrounding the auricula or outer ear.

• The Auricularis anterior (Attrahens aurem), the smallest of the three, is thin and fan-shaped, and its fibers are pale and indistinct. It arises from the lateral edge of the galea aponeurotica, and its fibers converge to be inserted into a projection on the front of the helix.

• The Auricularis superior (Attolens aurem), the largest of the three, is also thin and fan-shaped. Its fibers arise from the galea aponeurotica, and converge to be inserted by a thin, flattened tendon into the upper part of the cranial surface of the auricula.

• The Auricularis posterior (Retrahens aurem) consists of two or three fleshy fasciculi, which arise from the mastoid portion of the temporal bone by short aponeurotic fibers. They are inserted into the lower part of the cranial surface of the concha.

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In other animals these muscles serve to swivel the auricula to point in the direction of interesting sounds; in humans all they can manage is a feeble wiggle.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.