antihelix

On the pinna of the external ear, the antihelix is a curved prominence of cartilage that runs parallel with the helix and lies in front of it. Superiorly the ridge divides into two limbs, the crura antihelicis, and the triangular depression enclosed between those limbs is the fossa triangularis. The structure is also recorded under the spelling anthelix. As a cartilaginous fold rather than a discrete organ, the antihelix contributes to the relief of the auricle: its ridge and the hollow it encloses are among the fixed landmarks by which regions of the outer ear are named and located. It is classified as a multi-tissue structure, since the cartilage is covered by the skin and connective tissue of the auricle.