Structural changes of auricular cartilage associated with morphological age changes of elastic fibers may be one of the causes of expansion of the auricle after reaching adulthood.

Objective: Japanese people are physically larger and live longer than in the past. In light of these changes, we studied anthropometric auricular morphology in Japanese people in all age groups. Methods: Subjects were 1,958 healthy Japanese people with no ear disease , 966 males aged 0-94 years and 992 females aged 0-99 years. They were classified at 5-year intervals into 18 age groups , and each group consisted of 50-72 persons. Bilateral size of auricles (ear length , ear width, length of ear attachment, auricular cartilage length, and auricular lobe length) were measured in the usual manner. All measurements were made with calipers by a single observer. Results: Larger values were obtained in males than in females in almost all age groups. Rapid growth was observed until late teenage, and significant growth continued thereafter until advanced age. Auricular size was found to be greater than that in Japanese people in the past. Conclusions: In addition to changes in auricular size believed attributable to growth until late teenage , ageassociated changes appear to continue during adulthood .

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