# Ear

<mark style="color:$danger;">**This Editorial Guide is used for Education Purposes Only. It is used in the Authoring Courses and Certifications. It is based on the January 2026 Editorial Guide.**</mark>

The ear includes the external, middle and inner ear. The external ear has two main parts, the *auricle* (also called the *pinna*) and the 84301002 |External auditory canal structure (body structure)|.

The external auditory canal has the synonym *external auditory meatus*. The external auditory meatus is not just the external opening of the canal, but rather the canal extending to the ear drum ( 42859004 |Tympanic membrane structure (body structure)|).

The 61671002 |Structure of internal acoustic meatus of temporal bone (body structure)| (SYN, *internal auditory canal,* is not part of the ear. As described in the FSN, it is an opening in the temporal bone, and is primarily a nerve conduit that anatomically parallel to the external auditory canal.

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