Auricle Morphometry in Iranian Population

Abstract

Introduction: Anthropometric measurements are useful in the surgery and diagnosis of congenital diseases. Also, these measurements could promote clinical efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the anthropometric measurements of the right and left auricles and determine the dominant type among both sexes of the Iranian population. Methods: The study included 400 people (200 males and 200 females) aged 20-30 years, in Bandar Abbas City (south of Iran). We measured nine anthropometric parameters on both sides, in this population. Results: In males, the mean values of the length of the auricle, the width of the auricle, the length of the concha, the width of the concha, cephalo-auricular angle, ear-skull distance, tragus-alar distance, nasal length, and the most common lobule shape were 59.86 mm, 30.71 mm, 24.32 mm, 17.83 mm, 57.63˚, 8.71 mm, 101.72 mm, 50.31 mm, and round lobule, respectively, while in females were 60.12 mm, 31.36 mm, 25.32 mm, 17.73 mm, 55.68˚, 8.40 mm, 101.36 mm, 40.76 mm, and round lobule, respectively. Also, we measured eight anthropometric parameters on both sides. The lop ear deformity rates in males and females were 10.5% and 7.8%, respectively. Conclusion: The shape and dimensions of auricle considerably differ between diverse populations because of ethnicity, race, gender, age, and the use of different measurement methods. Also, the present result showed that the auricle dimension of males was less than that of females, but it was more symmetric in male subjects.

Keywords

• auricle morphometry
• anthropometry
• lobule