PMID: 18196763Jan 17, 2008Paper

Human ears grow throughout the entire lifetime according to complicated and sexually dimorphic patterns--conclusions from a cross-sectional analysis

Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Bericht über die biologisch-anthropologische Literatur
Carsten NiemitzVanessa Zacher

Abstract

In most of its anatomical constituents, e.g. in the Helix, etc., the external human ear is homologous to that of all Primates and Scandentia (tree shrews). Thus, its genetic basis is largely older than 60 Mio yrs. Based upon the observation of lifelong growth of the ear (e.g. Montacer-Kuhssary 1959), we aimed to elucidate the growth of the human ear in a more detailed way throughout life and in both sexes. On standardized photographical material collected randomly in Berlin (Germany), we measured N = 1448 ears from neonate children to volunteers of 92 yrs in age. 10 longitudinal measurements and 5 further anatomical parameters yielded a data set of roughly 19,000 data in total. Based upon our cross-section analysis, we quantified several sexual dimorphisms. Furthermore, we deduced ontogenetic developments and, partially, corrected their proportions for secular acceleration and body height shrinking with age. At the time of birth, in proportion to the body, the external ear was even bigger than the large head and continued growing rather linearly throughout life, reaching the highest average lengths in the volunteers aged over 85 yrs. The large yearly increases during childhood began to diminish at as early an age as 8 or 10 yrs...Continue Reading

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