One of the components of the otic capsule of some vertebrates; in the mammal the petrosal or petrous temporal bone incorporates the various otic elements seen in lower vertebrates. [epi- + G. ous, ear]
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epi·otic .ep-ē-'ät-ik adj belonging to or constituting the upper and outer element of the bony capsule of the inner ear that in humans forms a part of the temporal bone
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epi·ot·ic (ep″e-otґik) [epi- + otic] situated on or above the ear.Medical dictionary. 2011.