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Growth of the Oryctolagus External Auditory Anatomy

The auricular muscles are considered muscles of facial expression; the auricular muscles take their proximal attachments from the fascia of other muscles or cranial bones and distal attachments are the pinna, auricular, or scutiform cartilage. They function to rotate and translate the pinna allowing for the optimization of its position in collection of sound waves and maintain the balance of the notably large pinnae. The fascicle directions of the auricular muscles are informative of the directions in which the pinna can move and how powerfully they can act. Auricular muscles are notoriously difficult to dissect and visualize given how thin and friable they are. In this study, the auricular muscles are visualized, and the fascicle orientation are analyzed using diceCT. The heads of three Oryctolagus cuniculus at the ages of 10 days, 14 days and approximately 66 days postnatal were each subjected to a diffusible iodine‐based contrast enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) protocol. Soft tissues such as muscles uptake the iodine rendering them radio‐opaque and visible in micro‐CT imaging. While removing the skin is generally preferable to allow better penetration, the skin was left intact to avoid compromising the delicate, superficial musculature. Auricular muscles were then segmented out from the scans individually, they were identified and the fascicle orientations were compared. Results show that the bony external acoustic meatus, composed of ectotympanic bone, lengthens in two tubercles or plates, an anterior one and a posterior one. These tubercles grow superiorly leaving a deep U‐shaped furrow which then fills in between 14 and 66 days. The growth pattern of the external ear canal is largely similar to that which has been described for humans and other catarrhines with different angulation. Some of the auricular muscles are visualized in the present study including the parotidoauricularis, scutuloauricularis, and frontoscutularis mm. which are abductors, rotators, and translators of the pinna respectively. The proximal attachment of the parotidoauricularis m. increases in diameter with age. The fascicle orientation of the parotidoauricularis increases in relative verticality as the external ear canal lengthens superiorly.