A Text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs / by Dr. Adam Politzer ; translated and edited by James Patterson Cassells.

  • Politzer, Adam, 1835-1920.
Date:
1883
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A Text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs / by Dr. Adam Politzer ; translated and edited by James Patterson Cassells. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SOUND- CONDUCTING APPARATUS WITH REFERENCE TO THE DISEASES OF THE EAR. I. THE EXTERNAL EAR. A. The Auricle. The auricle, the lateral part of the organ of hearing, which is externally visible, is seldom the seat of primary pathological alterations. Though it is therefore, in a practical sense, of only slight interest, we consider it better not totally to ignore its anatomy, because sometimes in cases of violent injuries a precise representation of the parts affected by the injury is required in a court of law. The auricle presents in its outline a pyriform shape. Its normal position is between two horizontal lines, of which the superior touches the eyebrows, the inferior the tip of the nose (Henle, Systematic Anatomy, 1866). While it surrounds the external orifice of the ear, it is fastened on the lateral part of the head, midway between the forehead and the occiput, in such a manner that it forms with the lateral part of the head towards the occiput an acute angle, which is subject to manifold indi- vidual varieties. In this position the concave surface of the auricle, turned forwards and outwards, shows a number of irregular elevations and depressions (Fig. 1). The outer margin of the cartilaginous plate is turned in towards the front, and forms the helix of the auricle (Fig. 1, a). The helix, commencing at the crista helicis, above the external orifice of the ear, in the most pronounced depression of the auricle (concha), extends from here along the margin of the auricle upwards and backwards, and ends above the posterior margin of the lobe.* In parallel direction with the * On the superior part of the inverted margin of the helix, a more or less strongly pronounced knotty process is often found. According to Darwin, this is to be regarded as the remnant of the tip of the primitive ear, and is formed by the involution of the external margin of the helix. 1—2