The ear as an inverted fetus

From Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Anatomies: the human body, its parts and the stories they tell (2014), p. 158:

Some people believe the outer ear may be significant other than as a sound-gatherer. In the 1950s, a French doctor and acupuncturist named Paul Nogier noted that it resembles a curled human foetus (the lobe of the ear represents the head and the interior fold known as the antihelix the spine of the foetus in this case). The scheme of alternative medicine that he devised based on this resemblance is known as auriculotherapy. The patient's ear is seen as a honunculus or map of the whole body, with stimulation at different points on it being used to treat ailments in corresponding parts of the body.

Tampa Tribune - Aug 13, 1973

More info: wikipedia

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Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 15, 2022
Category: Body | Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil

Comments

Nogier must have been looking only at detached earlobes. Approximately 50% of people have ears with attached lobes, which don't look much like heads. In my opinion, any resemblance of an ear to a fetus is most likely another example of pareidolia.

Posted by Fritz on 06/15/22 at 11:10 AM

Not the dumbest thing I've seen today, but I have been watching the news . . .

Posted by Phideaux on 06/15/22 at 03:10 PM

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