Musculi auriculares externi

The auricular muscles (or extrinsic muscles) are the three muscles surrounding the auricula or outer ear:

• anterior auricular muscle
• superior auricular muscle
• posterior auricular muscle

The superior muscle is the largest of the three, followed by the posterior and the anterior.

In some mammals these muscles can adjust the direction of the pinna. In humans these muscles possess very little action.

The auricularis anterior draws the auricula forward and upward, the auricularis superior slightly raises it, and the auricularis posterior draws it backward.