European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

MORPHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF THE EXTERNAL EAR IN RELATION TO ATTACHMENT PATTERN: A STUDY OF ADULT NIGERIANS RESIDENT IN THE SOUTHERN REGION

Elohor Augustina Oyubu, *Michael Omonkhoea Oyakhire, Valentine Chidozie Amasiatu

ABSTRACT

There are two configurations of earlobe in humans; attached and unattached earlobe. This study was done to evaluate the morphology of the external ear in relation to attachment pattern and to determine the association between sex and morphology. A total of 450 subjects within the age of 18-45 resident the south-southern region of Nigeria was randomly selected for the study. Parameters measured from subjects who gave their consent include: Total auricular height (TAH), Total auricular width (TAW), Depth of inter-tragal notch (DIN), Auricular Projection (AP), Lobular width (LW), Lobular height (LH), Conchal width (CW), Conchal length (CL), Tragus to outer canthus angle (TCA) for both auricle with attached and unattached earlobe. The mean values of the measured parameters for both sexes was not significant. However, AP, DIN, TCA for males and females with attached earlobe was significant. All measured parameter had higher mean values for males compared to females except LH that was higher in females. Unattached earlobe was predominant in the study especially in females compared to males. Auricle with unattached earlobes are positioned closer to the outer canthus at tragal level than those with attached earlobes. It has therefore established that attachment pattern influences dimensions. A higher proportion of earlobes were unattached compared to the attached. Attachment pattern has no significant effect on the onset of loss of elasticity. Both types of earlobe are only affected either by nature or cultural practices. These findings will be useful in reconstructive surgery, forensic investigations and acoustic products design.

Keywords: Attached, Unattached, Earlobes, Auricle.