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The interactive dog atlas · Exterior and regions · Head

Ear auris

The ear you see is the pinna, on the top of the head, behind the eyes. It can be erect, half-raised or drop, depending on the breed. The ear canal and the middle and inner ear are inside the skull.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Exterior Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Ear
  2. Head
Ear on the atlas drawing, "Exterior and regions" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

On the top of the head, behind the eyes.

System
Body regions
Region
Head

What it is and what it does

The external ear, the pinna, can be erect, semi-erect or drop, depending on the breed. It directs sound toward the ear canal and the middle and inner ear, which lie inside the skull. The pinna is also a communication tool: ear position is part of the dog's body language.

Worth remembering

Ear position is part of the dog's body language.

Names

  • Also called: pinna (ear flap).
  • Latin term: auris.
  • In Romanian: Urechea (Romanian page).

In the atlas lessons

Read the dog's body (5 min):

The ears are drawn back in degrees, from “back” (appeasement) to “flattened” (fear); breed morphology matters.

Questions from the atlas

"Find it on the drawing" questions whose answer is this structure; in the atlas you will find them in the question bank and in the lessons.

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Head

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: exterior and regions