What Causes Cauliflower Ears?

QUESTION: They make us wear ear guards on the wrestling team to protect
against cauliflower ears, but I was never quite sure how the condition
developed. Would you please explain?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWER: Keep those protectors on, a cauliflower ear is not the most
attractive sight in the world. The structure of the ear is formed by
cartilage, which gives it flexibility and shape. Covering this is a tissue
which carries blood to the cartilage called the perichondrium. When a
forceful blow strikes the ear, the blood vessels can rupture, bleed, and form
a clot, which can turn the ear into a swollen, shapeless reddish purple mass.
If allowed to remain untreated, the clot becomes a thick scar and may
eventually become hard as it is slowly transformed into bone-like material by
deposits of calcium. A few such masses, and you have a cauliflower ear.
Proper treatment requires removal of the blood clot using suction drainage
through a cut in the skin.