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External ear
External ear There are three sections of the ear. They are the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The external ear looks complicated but it is functionally the simplest part of the ear. It consists of the pinna or auricle (the visible projecting portion of the ear), the external acoustic meatus (the outside opening to the ear canal), and the external ear canal that leads to the ear drum. In sum, there is the pinna, the meatus and the canal. And the external ear has only to concentrate air vibrations on the ear drum and make the drum vibrate. The external ear is also called the outer ear.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Ear
The hearing organ. There are three sections of the ear, according to the anatomy textbooks. They are the outer ear (the part we see along the sides of our head behind the temples), the middle ear, and the inner ear. But in terms of function, the ear has four parts: those three and the brain. Hearing thus involves all parts of the ear as well as the auditory cortex of the brain. The external ear helps concentrate the vibrations of air on the ear drum and make it vibrate. These vibrations are transmitted by a chain of little bones in the middle ear to the inner ear. There they stimulate the fibers of the auditory nerve to transmit impulses to the brain.
Pinna
The projecting part of the ear; also known as the auricle.
Auricle
"1.The principal projecting part of the ear. Also called the pinna.2. Something ear shaped such as the upper chambers of the heart. Also called the atria.
Acoustic
Having to do with sound and hearing.
Meatus
An opening or passageway in the body, such as the urinary meatus.
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Extended family
The family group consisting not only the nuclear family (the parents and their children) but also embracing the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes more distant relatives.
Extended phenytoin sodium
Extended phenytoin sodium is a prescription or over-the-counter drug which is (or once was) approved in the United States and possibly in other countries. Active ingredient(s): phenytoin sodium.
Extension
The process of straitening or the state of being strait. Extension of the hip and knee joints is necessary to stand up from the sitting position.
Extensor muscle
Any muscle that causes the straightening of a limb or other part.
External cephalic version
A procedure in which a doctor, using ultrasound images as a guide, attempts to massage a baby out of breech position (feet down) and into a head-down position for delivery.
External consistency
The consistency of a procedure (for example, a rating scale or laboratory test) between sets of data.
External fixation
A procedure that stabilizes and joins the ends of fractured (broken) bones by a splint or cast. External fixation is as opposed to internal fixation in which the ends of the fractured bone are joined by mechanical devices such as metal plates, pins, rods, wires or screws.
External jugular vein
The more superficial of the two jugular veins situated on each side of the neck. The other is the internal jugular vein. They drain blood from the head, brain, face and neck and convey it toward the heart.
External radiation therapy
Radiation therapy using a machine located outside the body to aim high-energy rays at a tumor.
External urethral sphincter muscle
A voluntary and involuntary ring-like band of muscle fibers that you voluntarily contract when you want to stop urinating.
Exteroceptive
Pertaining to a sensory organ that registers information from outside the body.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Expressed sequence tag (EST)
A unique stretch of DNA within a coding region of a gene that is useful for identifying full-length genes and serves as a landmark for mapping. An EST is a sequence tagged site (STS) derived from cDNA. An STS is a short segment of DNA which occurs but once in the genome and whose location and base sequence are known. STSs are detectable by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are helpful in localizing and orienting mapping and sequence data, and serve as landmarks in the physical map of the genome.
Expulsion, stage of
The part of labor from the full dilatation of the cervix until the baby is completely out of the birth canal. The second stage of labor.
Exstrophy
Eversion of a hollow organ at birth. An exstrophic bladder is one that is turned inside out like a rubber glove. In exstrophy of the cloaca (a primitive embryonic structure) an area of the intestine is interposed between two separate areas of the bladder.
Extended family
The family group consisting not only the nuclear family (the parents and their children) but also embracing the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes more distant relatives.
Extension
The process of straitening or the state of being strait. Extension of the hip and knee joints is necessary to stand up from the sitting position.
External ear
External fixation
A procedure that stabilizes and joins the ends of fractured (broken) bones by a splint or cast. External fixation is as opposed to internal fixation in which the ends of the fractured bone are joined by mechanical devices such as metal plates, pins, rods, wires or screws.
External jugular vein
The more superficial of the two jugular veins situated on each side of the neck. The other is the internal jugular vein. They drain blood from the head, brain, face and neck and convey it toward the heart.
External radiation therapy
Radiation therapy using a machine located outside the body to aim high-energy rays at a tumor.
Extracolonic
Outside the colon. An hereditary colon cancer syndrome may also predispose to extracolonic malignancies.
Extracorporeal
Outside the body, in the anatomic sense. As in extracorporeal circulation, extracorporeal dialysis, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.
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