[Development of the auditory ossicles in the human embryo: correlations with data obtained in mice]

The comparison of human middle ear ossicles developmental features with morphological and experimental data obtained in the mouse embryo reveals some points of convergence. The stapes develops mainly form Reichert's cartilage, but the malleus and incus derived partially from the first arch cartilage (Meckel's) and from a Reichert's cartilage-derived blastema parallel to the tubo-tympanic recess. These results permit to validate the mouse model in teratological studies.