• 16 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Outer Ear Anatomy Quiz

Twelve folds and hollows of the auricle to find, then four parts of the ear canal cut open.

Outer Ear Anatomy Quiz

Name Date

Tap the antihelix

1 of 12

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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Helix
  2. Antihelix
  3. Concha
  4. Tragus
  5. Lobule (earlobe)
  6. Opening of the ear canal
  7. Antitragus
  8. Intertragic notch
  9. Crus of the helix
  10. Crura of the antihelix
  11. Triangular fossa
  12. Scapha
  13. Auricular cartilage
  14. Cartilage part of the canal
  15. Bony part of the canal
  16. Eardrum (tympanic membrane)

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Read every name on the labeled outer ear

All 16 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The auricle 12

  1. Helix The rolled outer rim of the auricle.
  2. Antihelix A second curved ridge, inside the helix and parallel to it.
  3. Concha The deep hollow at the auricle's center. It leads into the ear canal.
  4. Tragus A small flap in front of the concha. It points backward over the opening of the ear canal.
  5. Lobule (earlobe) The soft lower end of the auricle. It is the one part with no cartilage inside.
  6. Opening of the ear canal Where the ear canal begins, in the floor of the concha.
  7. Antitragus A small bump opposite the tragus. It sits at the lower end of the antihelix.
  8. Intertragic notch The notch between the tragus and the antitragus.
  9. Crus of the helix The start of the helix. It runs across the concha, just above the ear canal.
  10. Crura of the antihelix The two arms into which the antihelix forks at the top.
  11. Triangular fossa The small hollow between the two crura of the antihelix.
  12. Scapha The narrow curved groove separating helix and antihelix.

The canal, cut 4

  1. Auricular cartilage The plate of elastic cartilage that gives the auricle its shape.
  2. Cartilage part of the canal The outer third of the ear canal. Its wall is cartilage, continuous with that of the auricle.
  3. Bony part of the canal The inner two thirds of the ear canal. Its wall is the temporal bone.
  4. Eardrum (tympanic membrane) A thin sheet across the inner end of the ear canal. The middle ear lies behind it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918), The External Ear, https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/1d-1-the-external-ear/ (every ridge and hollow of the auricle; the two parts of the canal). (2) Wikipedia, English edition, Auricle (anatomy) and Ear canal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricle_(anatomy) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_canal. (3) TeachMeAnatomy, The External Ear, https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/organs/ear/external-ear/. (4) Kenhub, Outer ear, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/outer-ear. The Wikipedia list of auricle parts follows Gray closely, so a name counts only when the third or fourth source has it too. Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This outer ear anatomy quiz names one part at a time and you tap it on the drawing. The auricle is a right ear seen from the side, with the face to the right.

Read the full guide

Names that get swapped

The crus of the helix is one ridge: the start of the rim, running across the deep hollow above the canal opening. The crura of the antihelix are two, the arms of the fork at the top. Three hollows differ by place: the scapha is the long groove just inside the rim, the triangular fossa sits in the fork, and the concha is the bowl that leads into the canal.

The four parts in the cut

The cut runs from the flap of the ear at the left inward to the right. The plate inside the flap is the auricular cartilage. Straight strips line the cartilage part of the canal, large masses the bony part, and the slanted sheet at the far end is the eardrum.

  • The tragus is named for the tuft of hair that often grows on its underside, which looks like a goat's beard.

Questions and answers

What is the pinna of the ear?

Another name for the auricle, the visible flap of the outer ear. Pinna is Latin for wing or fin, and the word is used more in zoology. The first twelve parts of the quiz are all on it.

What does the outer ear do?

It gathers sound and passes it inward. The auricle collects sound like a funnel and directs it into the ear canal, and the canal carries it to the eardrum.

What are the cymba and cavum of the concha?

The two halves of the concha. The crus of the helix runs across the hollow and partly divides it: the cymba is the upper part and the cavum the lower. The quiz asks for the concha as one part.

Can I take this as an outer ear anatomy fill in quiz?

Yes. Choose Type it under More options: one part lights up and you type its name. Tympanic membrane, fossa triangularis and earlobe count as right.

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