Lop Eared – Cup Ear Prominent Auricle Pinna
Please click to enlarge.
Note what signs you see.
I (W. Wertelecki, M.D.) see a cup-like prominent ear with the helix (rim) poorly developed and lack of antihelix (agenesis or aplasia). This individual (a Roman emperor) was also a stutterer.
PERSPECTIVE: Human ear is sustained by ridges of cartilage. Their absence or deficit results in deformations – such ears (pinna) may become prominent (prominence). Clever clinicians should not disregard such ear signs because they may be signals of other concurrent developmental anomalies.
Furthermore, non-human ears often have no helix, such as those of cats, which suggests evolutionary interpretations of the morphology of ears in different animals.
