BackgroundThe chick middle ear bone, the columella, provides an accessible model in which to study the tissue and molecular interactions necessary for induction and patterning of the columella, as well as associated multiple aspects of endochondral ossification. These include mesenchymal condensation, chondrogenesis, ossification of the medial footplate and shaft, and joint formation between the persistent cartilage of the extracolumella and ossified columella. Middle and external ear defects are responsible for approximately 10% of congenital hearing defects. Thus, understanding the morphogenesis and the molecular mechanisms of the formation of the middle ear is important to understanding normal and abnormal development of this essential component of the hearing apparatus.ResultsThe columella, which arises from proximal ectomesenchyme of the second pharyngeal arch, is induced and patterned in a dynamic multi-step process. From the footplate, which inserts into the inner ear oval window, the shaft spans the pneumatic middle ear cavity, and the extracolumella inserts into the tympanic membrane. Through marker gene and immunolabeling analysis, we have determined the onset of each stage in the columella's development, from condensation to ossification. Significantly, a single condensation with the putative shaft and extracolumella arms already distinguishable is observed shortly before initiation of five separate chondrogenic centers within these structures. Ossification begins later, with periosteum formation in the shaft and, unexpectedly, a separate periosteum in the footplate.ConclusionsThe data presented in this study document the spatiotemporal events leading to morphogenesis of the columella and middle ear structures and provide the first gene expression data for this region. These data identify candidate genes and facilitate future functional studies and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of columella formation.