Lobe d'oreille

The human earlobe (lobulus auriculae), the lower portion of the outer ear, is composed of tough areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the auricle (the external structure of the ear). In some cases the lower lobe is connected to the side of the face. Since the earlobe does not contain cartilage it has a large blood supply and may help to warm the ears and maintain balance. However, earlobes are not generally considered to have any major biological function. The earlobe contains many nerve endings, and for some people is an erogenous zone. The zoologist Desmond Morris in his book The Naked Ape (1967) conjectured that the lobes developed as an additional erogenous zone to facilitate the extended sexuality necessary in the evolution of human monogamous pair bonding. The earlobe, as a body part built of epithelium and connective tissue, might appear to be derived from dermatome. But this is not the case, as in the surrounding tissue there are no somites and thus no dermatome. In this area, the dermis is derived from cells of mesenchymal cells: the mesenchyme is derived from the sclerotome and splanchnopleura located in the nearby regions of the torso. The earlobe as a body part arises and develops in the vicinity of auricular follicle, as a result of cascade induction: The first-level inductor is the central segment of Archenteron's roof, which induces the production of the Medulla oblongata (part of the Hindbrain). The second-level inductor is the Medulla oblongata, which induces the production of a pair of auricular follicles derived from the mesoderm. The third-level inductor is the auricular follicle, which induces the production of the auditory bulla. Earlobes average about 2 centimeters long, and elongate slightly with age. Although the "free" vs. "attached" appearance of earlobes is often presented as an example of a simple "one gene – two alleles" Mendelian trait in humans, earlobes do not all fall neatly into either category; there is a continuous range from one extreme to the other, suggesting the influence of several genes.