CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EXTERNAL EAR 207 



Darwin's tubercle and one below this that I will name here for 

 the first time the 'inferior tubercle' of the helix. This tubercle 

 is illustrated by Miinch (14) in his study of the development of 

 the ear cartilage. Between these there are two depressions, one 

 at the upper outer corner of the ear between the satyr tubercle 

 and Darwin's tubercle, and one on the dorsal border of the helix 

 between Darwin's tubercle and the inferior tubercle. The three 

 tubercles and the two depressions are made by the unequal 

 turning in of the helix of the ear in the fetus. 



Darwin's tubercle is small or absent in the negro, and large in 

 the Filipino, although it is more often absent among them than 

 among the others. It is also small in the white although there 

 are many ears with large tubercles among the whites. 



Skin lines on the helix {plates 1 and 2) 



The position of the skin lines on the helix caused by the in- 

 folding of the tip were first seen in 1914 when I was making the 

 drawings of the ears in figures 1 to 12. These lines have never 

 before been described although they may be seen on practically 

 all adult ears. They converge from the outer to the inner 

 border of the helix beneath the prominence of Darwin's tubercle, 

 or adjacent to it, although they may be seen rarely on the dor- 

 sal side of the helix. By their usual position they seem to indi- 

 cate that the skin has been pulled forward under Darwin's 

 tubercle or has been held there while the adjacent parts of the 

 helix develop more rapidly, leaving lines that represent foldings 

 of the skin. 



The lines are more often absent or obscure on the ears of the 

 negroes and Filipinos than on the ears of the whites. The skin 

 lines are more scattered on the ears of the whites and more often 

 occur about Darwin's tubercle on the ears of the others. The 

 lines are also higher up on the helix of the white ears than on the 

 helix of the others, and often appear over the satyr tubercle of 

 the white ear. This may be due to the more regular form of the 

 white ear and to the fact that the satyr tubercle is larger in the 

 negro than in the white, and is turned over from above more in 

 the former than in the latter. This rolling over of the satyr 



