section_path: Development/Middle ear
section_name: Middle ear
paragraph_text: Middle ear
  
  The middle ear and its components develop from the first and second pharyngeal arches. The tympanic cavity and auditory tube develop from the first part of the pharyngeal pouch between the first two arches in an area which will also go on to develop the pharynx. This develops as a structure called the tubotympanic recess. The ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes) normally appear during the first half of fetal development. The first two (malleus and incus) derive from the first pharyngeal arch and the stapes derives from the second. All three ossicles develop from the neural crest. Eventually, cells from the tissue surrounding the ossicles will experience apoptosis and a new layer of endodermal epithelial will constitute the formation of the tympanic cavity wall.