Superior Auricular Muscle Beneath the Dermal Layer

Description

Positioned deep to the dermis of the temporal scalp, the superior auricular muscle appears as a thin, broad, aponeurotic slip coursing superior to the auricle (pinna) and superficial to the temporal fascia. Its fibers run from the epicranial aponeurosis (galea aponeurotica) toward the upper aspect of the auricular cartilage, lying posterior to the preauricular skin and superior to the external acoustic meatus. A lateral cross-sectional cut through the side of the head places the hair-bearing skin and subcutaneous tissue superficially, with the muscle flattening against the cranial sidewall as it approaches the helix and superior auricular region. Small as it is, this muscle matters when you are teaching the layered anatomy of the scalp and external ear, because it demonstrates how the extrinsic auricular muscles relate to the galea and to the surgical planes used in temporal and postauricular approaches. Its innervation by the temporal branch of the facial nerve anchors an exam-relevant correlation: weakness of ear elevation and subtle periauricular asymmetry can accompany facial nerve palsy, and iatrogenic injury to the temporal branch is a known risk in rhytidectomy and temporal incisions. The aponeurotic quality is the point. It looks more like fascia than a belly. Use this illustration for head and neck anatomy labs, ENT teaching files on auricular anatomy, and surgical education material that needs clean separation of dermal layer, subcutaneous tissue, auricular cartilage, and the superior auricular muscle in a male subject. It also fits facial nerve coursework when pairing motor branches with their target muscles around the pinna. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.