@entity1 temporal bones in teaching ear surgery are rare. The lamb's temporal bone might be a possible alternative. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Temporal bones of the lamb were dissected with a typical temporal bone lab drilling program. We included a mastoidectomy, endaural approaches, but also analyzed the outer appearance, the external ear canal and the hypotympanon. Some steps differed from preparation done in @entity1 . The morphometric results were compared to the known anatomy of @entity1 in order to verify the @entity742 ' temporal bone for suitability in otosurgic training. RESULTS: The @entity742 ' temporal bone appears smaller than the @entity1 one. We found a bullous extended hypotympanon located under the external ear canal. The tympanic membrane is very similar to the @entity1 one. The external ear canal is smaller and shorter. The ossicular chain shows analogies to @entity1 one. DISCUSSION: This study shows, that especially the middle ear, the tympanic membrane and the external ear canal are morphologically equal to the structures found in @entity1 temporal bones. The lamb seems feasible for teaching the anatomy of the ear. The smaller scales of some structures, especially the outer components of the temporal bone are a disadvantage. CONCLUSIONS: The lamb seems to be an alternative in teaching ear surgery.

[ XXXX ' temporal bone anatomy under didactic aspects].

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['humans', 'human', 'Human'] @entity742 :: ('9940', 'Species') :: ['lambs']
@entity742 :: (9940,Species) :: ['Lambs']
