Terminology Service for NFDI4Health

pinna

Go to external page http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0001757


The part of the ear that projects from the head, connecting to the external acoustic meatus. [ http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6601-2165 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinna_(anatomy) ]

Term info

Label

pinna

Synonyms
  • auricle
  • auricle of ear
  • auricle of external ear
  • auricula
  • auricula (auris externa)
  • pinna of ear
database cross reference
Subsets

uberon_slim, pheno_slim

plural term
pinnae

external definition

The external expanded part of the ear characterized by a funnel-shaped structure through which the sound vibrations are received. [Dorian_AF, Elsevier's_encyclopaedic_dictionary_of_medicine, Part_B:_Anatomy_(1988)_Amsterdam_etc.:_Elsevier][VHOG]

function notes

The purpose of the pinna is to collect sound. It does so by acting as a funnel, amplifying the sound and directing it to the ear canal. While reflecting from the pinna, sound also goes through a filtering process which adds directional information to the sound (see sound localization, head-related transfer function, pinna notch).

homology notes

Mammals have a third type of tympanic ear. An external flap, the auricle or pinna, helps funnel sound waves down the external acoustic meatus to the tympanic membrane.[well established][VHOG]

id

UBERON:0001757

taxon notes

In various species, the pinna can also signal mood and radiate heat