Ectodermal

Derivatives
Development of the Ear
Regions of the Ear (mammalian)
The external Ear
 consist of the auricle or pinna and the external
auditory canal which functions as a sound collecting
funnel
Regions of the Ear (mammalian)
The middle Ear
 has a sound transmitting mechanism which
involves a chain of 3 auditory ossicles which pick up
the vibrations received by the eardrum and transmits
them across the middle ear or the tympanic cavity, to
the receptive mechanism of the internal ear
Regions of the Ear (mammalian)
The internal Ear
 composed of an elaborate system of fluid filled, epithelially
lined chambers and canals constituting the so called membranous
labyrinth

 the membranous labyrinth lies within the temporal bone in a

similarly shaped, but larger, series of cavities consisting the bony
labyrinth
 the perilymphatic space which is filled with the perilymphatic
fluid is the narrow space between the walls of the bony labyrinth and
the membranous labyrinth
Cochlea
 Cochlea  sound receiving portion of the
membranous labyrinth which is shaped like a snail
shell
 Vestibular complex  concerned with
equilibrium, its membranous labyrinth is
composed of the sacculus, utriculus, and the 3
semicircular ducts or canals
 the most primitive part of the ear and the only
part the ear that has been differentiated in fishes
 Formation of the auditory vesicle
 stimulated by and inductive action of the hindbrain upon the
overlying ectoderm
 In the 3rd week (2 somite stage), in human embryos, the
embryological changes are first noticeable and it is when the
superficial ectoderm on the either side of the still-open neural
tube thickened
 By the middle of the third week (7 somite stage), the auditory
placode start to thicken and becomes quite clearly marked
Formation of the auditory vesicle
 By the end of the third week, the auditory placode
has taken shape as a sharply circumscribed
thickening on the either side of the developing
myelencephalon
 By the fourth week, the placode has invaginated to
form the auditory pit
 As soon as it has been closed off from the surface,
the auditory pit constitute of the auditory vesicle
or otic vesicle
Formation of the auditory vesicles
 The auditory vesicle induces the mesenchyme
around it to form the cartilaginous ear capsules
 And the origin of this mesenchyme is the
mesoderm
 As the auditory vesicle enlarges, it changes from its originally
spheroidal shape and becomes elongated dorso-ventrally
 The area where the epithelium of the auditory vesicle was separated
from the superficial ectoderm, a tubular extension of the vesicle
develops which is known as the endolymphatic duct
 The endolymphatic duct disappears in adults

 As the auditory vesicle expands laterally, the endolymphatic duct is

left occupying a progressively more median position in relation to the
rest of the vesicle
The Internal Ear
the auditory vesicles divide into
 the ventral component which gives rise to the
saccule and the cochlear duct
 The dorsal component forms the utricle, semi-
circular canals and the endolymphatic duct
Saccule, Cochlea and Organ of Corti
 In the sixth week of development, the saccule
forms the tubular outpocketing at its lower pole,
which is called the cochlear duct; which penetrates
the surrounding mesenchyme in a spiral fashion
until the end of the 8th week it has completed 2 and
a half turns
 Its connection with the remaining portion of the
saccule is then confined to a pathway – the ductus
reuniens
 Inthe 10th week, the differentiated cartilagenous shell from the
meesenchyme undergoes vacoulization forming the two
perilymphatic spaces
 The scala vestibuli and the scala tympani
 The cochlear duct is then separated from the scala vestibuli by
the vestibular membrane and the scala tympani by the
basicular membrane
 The spiral ligament attaches the lateral wall of the cochlear duct
to the surrounding cartilage
 The median angle of the cochlear duct is conneected to and partly
supported by a long carilagenous process, the modiolus, the
future axis of the bony cochlea
• The epithelial cells of the cochlear duct then forms two ridges: the
inner ridge, the future spiral limbus and the outer ridge
• The outer ridge forms one row of inner and 3 or 4 rows of outer hair
cells, the sensory cells of the audotory system which will be covered
by the tectorial membrane
• The tectorial membrane is a fibrilar, gelatinous substance attached to
the spiral limbus that rests with its tip on the hair cells
• Sensory cells + tectorial membrane = Organ of Corti
 Impulses received by this organ are transmitted to the spiral
ganglion and then to the nervous system by the auditory fibers
by the cranial nerve VIII
Utricle and semicircular canals
6 weeks of development, the semicircular canals
appear as flattened outpocketings of the utricular
part of the otic vesicle
 The central portions of the walls of these
outpocketings eventually appose each other and
disappear giving rise to the semicircular canals
 One end of each canal dilates to form the crus
ampullare, and the other the crus nonampullare
does not widen
Utricle and semicircular canals
 Cristaampulllaris, which are the cells in the
ampule which form a crest containing sensory
cells
 Similar sensory areas, the maculae acuosticae,
develop in the walls of the utricle
 The impulses generated in the sensory cells of these
two as a result of the change in the position of the
body are carried to the brain by the vestibular fibers
of the cranial nerve 8
Utricle and semicircular canals
 During the formation of the otic vesicle, a small
group of cells break away from its wall and forms
the statoacuostic ganglion
 Other cells of this ganglion are derived from the
neural crest
 This ganglion subsequently splits into cochlear
and vestibular portions, which supply sensory
cells of the organ of Corti and those of the saccule,
utricle, and semi-circular canals respectively
Middle ear
Tymphanic Cavity and Auditory tube
 The tympanic cavity originates from the endoderm
and is derived from the 1st pharyngeal pouch
 Auditory tube or Eustachian tube is the proximal
part of the pouch which remains narrow
 Tubotympanic recess is the distal part of the pouch
which widens and give rise to the primitive
tympanic cavity
Ossicle
 Malleus, Incus are derived from the cartilage of
the 1st pharyngeal arch
 Stappes are derived from the 2nd pharyngeal arch
External Ear
External Auditory Meatus
 Develops from the dorsal portion of the pharyngeal
cleft
 3rd month, the epithelial cells at the bottom of the
meatus proliferate, forming a solid epithelial plate,
the meatal plug
 7th plug, this plug dissolves and the epithelial lining
of the floor of the meatus participates in the
formation of the definitive ear drum
Eardrum or tympanic membrane
 Made up of (a) ectodermal epithelial lining at the
bottom of the auditory meatus, (b) endodermal lining
of the tympanic cavity and (c) intermediate layer of
connective tissue that forms the fibrous stratum
 The major part of the eardrum is attached to the
handle of the malleus and the remaining portion
forms the separation between the external auditory
meatus and the tympanic cavity
 Auricle
 Develops from 6 mesenchymal proliferation at the
dorsal ends of the first and 2nd pharyngeal arches,
surrounding the 1st pharyngeal cleft
 This swellings (auricular hillocks), three on each side
of the external meatus, later fuse and form the
definitive auricle
 Externally the ears are in the lower neck region, but
with the development of the mandible, they ascend to
side of the head at the level of the eyes
Variation in the development of the
auditory placode
 Amniotes – the whole epidermal layer is involved with the
formation of the auditory placode and it later invaginates to
form a sac which is at leant temporarily open to the exterior
 Frogs – the auditory placode is formed by the thickening of the
interior “sensory” layer of the epidermis, while the external
covering layer is not involved at all, as a result, when the
placode invaginates, there is no opening or pit at the surface of
the skin
 Bony fishes – the auditory organ is formed not by invagination
but as a solid mass of cells on the inner surface of the
epidermis and is hallowed out secondarily
Q: So what will happen if the ear vesicle is removed?

A: the ear capsule and the superfluous cartilage in the area does
not develop but middle ear still develops

In the absence of the vesicle, the proliferation of the procartilage

cells falls short of the normal
Chain of inductions provided in the
development of the ear
1. the primary inductor – the roof of the archenteron,
consisting of the presumptive chordomesoderm –
causes the development of the hindbrain
2. The hindbrain, as a secondary inductor, stimulates
the development of the ear vesicle (in conjunction
with the direct action of the mesoderm on the
presumptive ear ectoderm)
3. The ear vesicle, as a tertiary inductor, causes the
formation of the cartilagenuous capsule
 Deafness and external ear
abnormalities
Congenital Deafness – associated with deaf-mutism, maybe
caused by abnormal development of the membranous and bony
labyrinth or by malformations of the auditory ossicles and ear
drum
 In extreme cases, the tympanic cavity and external meatus are
absent
Preauricular appendages and pits – are skin tags and shallow
depressions, respectively, anterior to the ear. Pits may indicate
abnormal development of the auricular hillocks, whereas
appendages may be due to accessory hillocks
Tapus Na!!!!
Amu lang na
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