pretympanic

from The Century Dictionary.

• In anatomy, placed in advance of the tympanum of the ear: as, a pretympanic nerve.
• In ichthyology, anterior with reference to the tympanic pedicle or suspensorium of the mandible; anterior among a set of bones composing this pedicle: correlated with epi-, meso-, and hypotympanic.
• noun The pretympanic bone or cartilage of the suspensorium of the lower jaw of fishes, now generally called metapterygoid, under which name it is shown in the cut under palatoquadrate.