Minor Helical Muscle Beneath the Skin, Lateral View

Description

Seen from a lateral aspect beneath intact skin, the male auricle (pinna) is rendered with the helix, antihelix, scapha, triangular fossa, concha, tragus, and lobule in clear relief. Along the anterosuperior helix, the minor helical muscle (musculus helicis minor) appears as a short, fine slip running obliquely within the auricular musculature, superficial to the elastic auricular cartilage but deep to the dermis. Posterior and superior to the auricle, adjacent periauricular fibers are suggested where the intrinsic auricular muscles blend toward the extrinsic auricular group near the temporal scalp. Hair-bearing scalp and facial skin frame the region. Intrinsic auricular muscles are often dismissed as vestigial, yet they matter when you are teaching layered anatomy of the external ear or planning incisions that preserve superficial soft tissue planes. This lateral, subcutaneous treatment clarifies how the helicis minor can be mistaken for a fibrous band or scar tissue during otoplasty and postauricular approaches, where skin elevation over the helix and concha risks disrupting delicate muscle slips and their small neurovascular twigs. Small structure, real landmark. Use this artwork in head and neck anatomy teaching (external ear module), plastic surgery and ENT education for otoplasty planning, or publishing figures on auricular soft tissue layers and intrinsic ear muscles (musculi auriculares). Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.