otic pit

{{Short description|Part of the human body}}

{{Infobox embryology

| Name = Otic pit

| Latin = fovea otica

| Image = Gray898.png

| Caption = Section through the head of a human embryo, at the beginning of the fourth week, in the region of the hind-brain.

| Image2 =

| Caption2 =

| System =

| CarnegieStage =

| Precursor = Auditory plate

| GivesRiseTo =

}}

The auditory pit, also known as the otic pit, is the first rudiment of the internal ear. It appears shortly after that of the eye, in the form of a patch of thickened ectoderm, the auditory plate, over the region of the hind-brain. The auditory plate becomes depressed and converted into the auditory pit (or otic pit{{EmbryologyUNC|hednk|010}}).