The mouse (Mus musculus) is the most standard model organism among mammals, but descriptive studies on its development are limited. This dataset was created to provide a deeper understanding of craniofacial morphogenesis in mice.
The histological sections were prepared from wild-type mice at developmental stages 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5, 12.5, 13.5, 14.5, and 15.5 dpc (days post-coitum), with a focus on the head region. The samples were fixed using Serra's fixative and stored in 70% ethanol. Paraffin sections were prepared following standard protocols. All sections were sagittal, with a thickness of 6 µm for 8.5 and 9.5 dpc, and 9 µm for 10.5 to 15.5 dpc. Peripheral nerves were stained using immunohistochemistry with anti-acetylated tubulin antibody and visualized with DAB. Subsequent staining included alcian blue, hematoxylin, and eosin, performed according to standard procedures.
Hiroki Higashiyama, Shunya Kuroda, Akiyasu Iwase, Naoki Irie, Hiroki Kurihara (2025) On the Maxillofacial Development of Mice, Mus musculus., Journal of morphology, Volume 286, Number 3, pp. e70032
Published in 2025 Mar
(Abstract) The maxillofacial region is one of the most complex areas in the vertebrate body plan. The homology of the upper jaw bones remain controversial, both between mammals and nonmammalian amniotes and among humans and other mammals, leading to various hypotheses on how this region evolved from ancestral amniotes to humans. As a key mammalian model, the mouse (Mus musculus) is vital for unraveling the evolution and development of the maxillofacial region experimentally. However, limited detailed morphological descriptions of murine cranial development hinder the extrapolation of findings to other species, including humans. Here, we describe the development of the murine face, including the nerves, skeletons, and vasculatures from the pharyngula (9.0 days post-coitum [dpc]) to the late fetal period (18.5 dpc) based on three-dimensional reconstructions of histological sections. The present results confirm that the morphology of the pharyngula stages and developmental process of chondrocranium of mice is highly conserved when compared to nonmammalian tetrapods and humans. We also propose that the Os incisivum, the rostralmost bone in the mammalian upper jaw, consists of septomaxillary and palatine components, supporting our previous hypothesis that the ancestral premaxilla was entirely lost in mammals. The present descriptive study of mice strengthen the anatomical correspondence between mouse and human faces and offers a solid framework for comparative craniofacial studies across vertebrates.(MeSH Terms)