Tympanic part of the temporal bone

Tympanic part of the temporal bone
Tympanic part of the temporal bone
	Left temporal bone. Outer surface. (Tympanic part at bottom center.)
	Coronal section of right temporal bone.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	pars tympanica ossis temporalis
TA98	A02.1.06.052
TA2	693
FMA	52880
	Anatomical terms of bone

The tympanic part of the temporal bone is a curved plate of bone lying below the squamous part of the temporal bone, in front of the mastoid process, and surrounding the external part of the ear canal.

It originates as a separate bone (tympanic bone), which in some mammals stays separate through life.

Evolutionarily, a portion of it is derived from the angular bone of the reptilian lower jaw.