Earlobe

Earlobe
Latin	lobulus auriculae (singular), lobuli auricularum (plural)
Gray's	subject #229 1034
System	Auditory system

The human earlobe is composed of tough areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the pinna. 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.

Size and shape

Earlobes average about 2 cm 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, several studies suggest that the story is not that simple. A quick survey of your friends will reveal that earlobes do not all fall neatly into either the "free" or the "attached" categories; there is a continuous range from one extreme to the other, suggesting the influence of several genes.

A free earlobe		An attached earlobe, with piercing and tattoo

Earlobes are normally smooth, but occasionally exhibit creases. Creased earlobes are associated with genetic disorders, including Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Earlobe creases are also associated with an increased risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease; however, since earlobes become more creased with age, and older people are more likely to experience heart disease than younger people, age may account for the findings linking heart attack to earlobe creases. However, this correlation proved to be untrue in persons of Asian descent (Chinese and Japanese) and Native American Indians. See Frank's Sign.

Earlobe piercing

Tutankhamen displaying a stretched earlobe piercing.

Around the world and throughout human history, the earlobe is the most common location for a body piercing.^{[citation needed]} It is common to tear the earlobe with the weight of very heavy earring, or a traumatic pull of an earring. Some cultures practice earlobe stretching, using piercing ornaments to stretch and enlarge the earlobes. Sailors used to believe that piercing one earlobe gave greater acuity in the opposite ear.^{[citation needed]}