| Tragus | |
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| The auricula. Lateral surface. | |
| Gray's | subject #229 1034 |
The tragus is a small pointed eminence of the external ear, situated in front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus. Its name comes from the Greek: tragos, goat, and is descriptive of its general covering on its under surface with a tuft of hair, resembling a goat's beard.
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Related facts
- Because the tragus faces rearwards, it aids in collecting sounds from behind. These sounds are delayed more than sounds arriving from the front, assisting the brain to sense front vs. rear sound sources.
- Earbuds (a type of earphone) are held against the concha by the tragus.
- Some people prefer to push their tragus over the entrance of the auditory canal rather than putting their index finger in it or placing their palm over the entire ear when blocking out sound.
- Tragus piercing is popular in North American and European culture, and often a ring or barbell is inserted. The antitragus (opposite the tragus) is also sometimes pierced.
- A beard that runs from ear to ear is sometimes called a tragus.[citation needed]
Additional images
 Horizontal section through left ear; upper half of section. |
See also
External links
- MedlinePlus Image 1126
- lesson3 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (externalear) (#7)
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.
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