External Ear: Anatomy, Function and Pathologies

Followed by the middle ear and then by the inner ear, the outer ear is responsible for amplifying the acoustic waves and directing them to the eardrum.
Partly visible to the naked eye, the outer ear is made up of the auricle and the external auditory canal, and includes a series of muscles, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels.
The external ear can be the subject of congenital or acquired malformations, and conditions such as otitis media and auricular perichondritis can also affect it.