Embryology of Head, Face and Oral Cavity

Face development ( 4th – 7th week of intra uterus life )

Branchial ( pharyngeal ) Arches :

• During 4th week of embryonic development branchial or pharyngeal arches are formed as bilateral
swellings inferior to stomodeum ( primitive oral cavity ) .
• In humans the 5th &6th branchial arches are primitive and may fuse with 4th arches.
• Separated externally by branchial grooves and pharyngeal pouches from internally .
Covered externally by ectoderm and internally by endoderm.Between the pharyngeal arches we
have pharyngeal clefts .

Branchial arches give rise to important structures of the face and neck & support the lateral walls of
primitive pharynx .

Where are the arches located ? at the sides of the stomodeum

What is the structure / component / anatomy of each arch ?

Each arch contains similar components derived from ectoderm, endoderm and ecto-mesoderm.

The Ecto-mesoderm contains:

a. Cartilage rod
b. Muscular component
c. Vascular component
d. Neural component (Nerve)

The ectomesenchymal cells in the middle

layer in a branchial arch will differentiate into
nerve , artery , bone .

The first branchial arch forms on both sides of

the stomodeum, and the rest of the branchial
arches form underneath it .( bilaterally )

Done By : Sima Habrawi

Number of 1st branchial arch 2nd branchial 3rd Branchial arch 4th Branchial arch
arch ( mandibular arch ) arch
( hyoid arch )
Type of contains Meckel’s Contains Forms the lower forms the thyroid
cartilage + cartilage - Gives rise to Reichert’s aspect of the cartilage and cartilages
what it will the maxilla and the Cartilage – gives hyoid bone of the larynx.
give rise to mandible , lower face rise to :
and the mandible with the stapes bone
mandibular teeth.( most in the ear
Meckel’s cart. styloid process of 5th + 6th
Disappears only 2 bones temporal bone branchial
in the ear stay Malleus superior hyoid arches
and Incus ) bone fuse with
the 4th
branchial
Muscle it will Gives origin to muscles Muscles of facial arch
give rise to of mastication expression
Artery it will contributes to maxillary
give rise to artery and part of the
external carotid artery

Nerve it will Gives the trigeminal Gives the facial Glossopharyngeal Vagus nerve
give rise to nerve (V cranial nerve). nerve ( VII cranial (cranial nerve ( cranial nerve X)
-Innervated nerve ) nerve IX)
by:

• We have 3 bones in the ear :

( incus and malleus ) come from the 1st branchial arch ( Meckel’s cartilage ) and stapes from 2nd
branchial arch (Reichert’s cartilage )
• The 1st , 3rd and 4th branchial arches are involved in the formation of the tongue .
• In the 3rd week u can’t see any branchial arches .
• the tenth cranial nerve is called vagus because when they first discovered it they didn’t know what it
was so they called it vagus ( unknown )

Q: what is the origin of the muscles of mastication ?

A: the ectomesoderm of the 1st branchial arch

Done By : Sima Habrawi

Week 4 :

1. The frontal process ( which will later become the frontal part of the face ) covers most of the facial
area
2. Underneath the frontal process are two process at the sides of the stomodeum are the maxillary
processes , underneath them lies the 2 process of the mandible .

The maxillary process à gives :

1. maxilla + maxillary teeth from canine to last tooth

2. zygomatic bone
3. squamous part of the temporal bone

the mandibular process à gives : the mandible + the lower lip + lower teeth

In between the mandibular and the maxillary processes lies the stomodeum ( primitive oral pit ) –
separated from the foregut by the Bucoopharyngeal membrane

Q: what is the origin of the buccopharyngeal membrane?

A: it develops from 2 layers the ectoderm and the endoderm . the layer of the membrane facing the
foregut comes from endoderm and the layer of the membrane that faces the oral cavity comes from the
ectoderm

Week 5 :

1. Buccopharyngeal membrane ruptures and the oral cavity is opened to the foregut
2. Formation of a bulge area ( due to the development of the brain )
3. the frontal process is called now the front nasal process ( because it will give the nose ) – it will
diminish causing the face to become wider
4. The eyes become clearly visible on the sides of the head
5. Development of the nasal placodes : thickening of epithelium located on the upper border of the
lip
6. The nasal cavity opens to the oral pit by 2 slits –( called nostrils formed by the nasal placodes )
7. Lateral to the nostrils are the lateral nasal process – medial to the nostrils is the medial nasal
process

Front nasal process: The bulge area + the frontal process

Origin Structure
nasal placodes Nose
Optic placodes Eye
Otic placodes Ear

Done By : Sima Habrawi

Week 6 : ( most important week of embryonic development – because we start to get the
odontogenic epithelium which will later gives us teeth )
1. The eyes move from the side of the face to a more central position ( due to the broadening
of the face )
2. Stomodeum widens and attaches laterally to each of the mandibular and maxillary arches
3. The maxilla and the lateral processes fuse together from the naso lacrimal groove ( later it
will become the nasolacrimal duct which lies on both sides of the face )
4. The 2 medial nasal processes fuse to form the intermaxillary segment which will give : 9
the middle portion of the face )
A. Philtrum of the upper lip
B. Anterior part of maxilla
C. Primary palate
D. Part of the nose
E. Maxillary Central incisors
5. The lateral nasal process forms the alae of the nose
6. Mandibular processes fuse together to form the lower jaw
7. Odontogenic epithelium appears around 38 days
Development of the external ear :
The first branchial groove à gives the external auditory canal ( external acoustic meatus )
The external ear is formed from by fusion of 6 hillocks ( 3 originate from the mandibular arch
and 3 originate from the hyoid arch ) they form around the external auditory canal .
NOTE : The external ear à comes form the branchial grooves 7 the internal ear à comes
form the branchial pouches

Week 7:
The face takes a more human appearance:

• the eyes are in the middle

• the upper lip is fused
• external ear is developed
fusions that occur in the 7th week are :
A. lateral + median nasal processes
B. median + median nasal processes
C. median nasal process + maxillary process
D. lateral nasal process + maxillary process

Done By : Sima Habrawi

Done By : Sima Habrawi
FACE CLEFTS :Failure in the fusion of the different facial processes cause different types of
face clefts (Malformations due to environmental or genetic mutations )

A. Bilateral lip cleft : maxillary process fails to fuse with the median
nasal process on both sides
( the 2 maxillary processes fail to fuse with the 2 median nasal
processes or the intermaxillary segment )

B. Unilateral lip cleft : maxillary process fails to fuse with the

median nasal process on one side .

C. Median lip cleft : caused by the partial failure of the fusion

between the 2 median nasal processes .

D. Median face cleft : caused by the complete failure of the

fusion between the 2 median nasal processes

E. Oblique facial cleft : caused by the failure of the fusion

between the lateral nasal process and the maxillary process

F. Lateral facial cleft : caused by the failure of fusion between

the mandibular and the maxillary processes .

Done By : Sima Habrawi

 G. Median mandibular cleft : caused by the failure of the
fusion between the 2 mandibular processes .
( some people have a depression on the chin not a complete
cleft )

NOTE : Lip clefts are more common the facial cleft because facial clefts
are mostly very severe and they cause the embryo to die .

Median face cleft = ( Frontonasal dysplasia ) – or median cleft syndrome

• Caused by complete inability of fusion between the 2 median nasal processes
• Rare disorder affecting face and head
• Unknown cause ( might be genetic ) because some cases were genetically inherited but
most cases appear randomly ( sporadically )
Sporadically : when a disease occurs suddenly in a family with no previous family members
having this disease
PROCESS DERIVATIVES
MAXILLARY PROCESS Maxilla
Zygomatic bone
Squamous part of temporal bone
Upper teeth ( form canine to last tooth )
The sides of the upper lip
MANDIBLE Mandible
Lower teeth
Lower lip

MEDIAL NASAL PROCESS Fuse to give the intermaxillary segment

They will give rise to the :
philtrum
Primary palate
The anterior part of the upper lip
Part of the nose
Maxillary central incisors
LATERAL NASAL PROCESS Alae of the nose
Fuses with the maxillary process to form the
nasolacrimal groove which will become the
nasolacrimal duct later

Done By : Sima Habrawi

Done By : Sima Habrawi