Abstract
Objective: Describe the main characteristics of rats and guinea pigs’ peripheral auditory system. Bibliographic Review: Nowadays, researches have been done to more about these animals’ auditory system. For ontological researches, rats and guinea pigs have been commonly used, because of the human ear similarities. At the literature’s description, it can be observed that both present an external ear canal. Humans present similarities among rats and guinea pigs’ middle ear, like the ossicles, differing only in size. While humans present the temporal mastoid, rats and guinea pigs present tympanic bulla. With respect to the internal ear, rats and humans’ cochlea are the same, because both present two and a half spirals. Was observed in the spirals and cochlea of guinea pigs’, rats and humans, the presence of Tectory Membrane, Raissner Membrane, Corti Organ, and Hensen Cells, External Ciliated Cells (ECCs) and Internal Ciliated Cells (ICCs). Final Considerations: Its concluded that the rats and guinea pigs’ peripheral auditory system is like humans’, being able to be used in researches to a bigger scientific breakthrough through the application of technical assessments in vivo that will be able to be applied in the future in humans.