Figure 2.

Tympanic membrane structure. (a) A murine tympanic membrane. The pars flaccida is broader and larger in comparison to (b) the triangular shaped pars flaccida of the human tympanic membrane. Asterisks denote areas of the eardrum most commonly affected by disease such as cholesteatoma or nonhealing perforations. (c) Schematic of human tympanic membrane. The pars flaccida and pars tensa are separated by the malleolar folds. The manubrium of the malleus inserts into and abuts the pars tensa. (d) and (e) Trichrome and schematic cross sections along dotted red line in (c) showing the three layers of the tympanic membrane with the pars flaccida being thicker than the pars tensa. MF, malleolar fold; MM, manubrium of malleus; PF, pars flaccida; PT, pars tensa