[TA] the passage leading inward through the tympanic portion of the temporal bone, from the auricle to the tympanic membrane; it consists of a bony (inner) portion and a fibrocartilaginous (outer) portion, the cartilaginous external acoustic meatus. SYN: meatus acusticus externus [TA], acoustic meatus (1), antrum auris, auditory canal, ear canal, external auditory meatus.
