EMBRYOLOGY

PRESENTED BY:
DHARANI.M
M.SC NURSING (I- YEAR)
DEPT OF OBG
COLLEGE OF NURSING
MTPG&RIHS
 Embryology
Embryology is derived from Latin word “embryein”
Em – In ; bryein- to swell
Embryo – the organism within the swelling
Embryology – the study of embryo
Human embryology – the study of human embryo and fetus
Embryo – the end of 1st week to the end of 8th week
early development to the end of 8th week
Fetus – 9th week till birth
Conceptus – embryo + extra embryonic structures
 INTRODUCTION
• Human development is a continuous process that begins when an oocyte
(ovum) from a female is fertilized by a sperm (spermatozoon) from a
male.
• Cell division, cell migration, programmed cell death, differentiation,
growth, and cell rearrangement transform the fertilized oocyte, a highly
specialized, totipotent cell, a zygote, into a multicellular human being.
• NOTE:
• Development does not stop at birth.
• Although most developmental changes occur during the embryonic and fetal
periods
• Important changes occur during late periods of development,
• Infancy, childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
 HUMAN EMBRYOLOGY
• Human embryology is a fascinating topic that reveals to each of us
our own prenatal origins. It also sheds light on the birth defects

that occur relatively frequently in humans. So the study of both

normal and abnormal human embryology tells us something about

every human we will encounter throughout our lives. For those

seeking a career in biology, medicine, or allied health sciences,

there are many other reasons to learn human embryology, which

include the following:

• Knowing human embryology provides a logical framework for
understanding adult anatomy.
• Knowing human embryology provides a bridge between basic
science (e.g., anatomy and physiology) and clinical science (e.g.,
obstetrics, pediatrics, and surgery).
• Knowing human embryology allows the physician to accurately
advise patients on many issues, such as reproduction,
contraception, birth defects, prenatal development, in vitro
fertilization, stem cells, genome editing, and cloning.
 HUMAN EMBRYOLOGY IN
PREGNANCY
• Human pregnancy is artificially subdivided in different ways to
facilitate understanding of the complex changes that occur in the
developing organism over time. Prospective parents and
physicians typically use trimesters: 3-month periods (0 to 3
months, 3 to 6 months, and 6 to 9 months) starting with the date of
the onset of the last menstrual period (a memorable landmark) and
ending at birth.
TERMINOLOGIES
• Oocyte (ovum/egg): refers to the female germ or sex cells
produced in the ovaries
• Sperm (spermatozoon): refers to the germ cell produced in the
testes (testicles)
• Zygote: this cell results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm
during fertilization.
• A zygote or embryo is the beginning of a new human being.
• Cleavage: the series of mitotic cell divisions of the zygote to form
early embryonic cells, blastomeres
• Morula: solid mass of blastomeres (12-32) in 3-4 days after
fertilization.
• Blastocyst: the morula enters the uterus and surrounded by a
fluid-filled cavity, blastocystic cavity.
• Implantation: the process during which the blastocyst attaches to
the uterus, and embeds in it.
• Gastrula: a trilaminar embryonic disc containing the three germ
layers, (ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm)
• Neurulla: the early embryo during the third and fourth weeks
when the neural tube develops (the first appearance of the nervous
system)
• Embryo: the developing human during its early stages of
development (56 day)
• Conceptus: the embryo and its associated membranes (adnexa)
• Primordium: the beginning or first discernible indication of an
organ or structure.
• Fetus: the developing human after 8 weeks and until birth
• Histogenesis: the differentiation of the specific cells of tissue and
their function
• Organogenesis: formation of organs during development
• Phyliogenesis: the evolutionary development of a species
• Embryogenesis: establishment of the characteristics configuration
of the embryonic body
• Organizers: are group of cells that include and determine the
differentiation of adjacent tissue
• Differentiation: the acquisition of one or more characteristics or
function different from that of the original type
 PHASES OF EMBRYOLOGY

• Embryologists subdivide human embryology into phases.

• The first phase of human embryology is gametogenesis. This
process occurs in the gonads (ovaries and testes) of females and
males and involves meiosis. In both females and males, the main
effect of meiosis is to establish a haploid cell, that is, a cell that
contains half the number of chromosomes contained in typical
body cells, such as skin cells. In addition to producing haploid
cells, meiosis allows the shuffling of genetic information, thereby
increasing genetic diversity.
• In females, gametogenesis occurs in the ovaries and is called
oogenesis; the final cells produced by oogenesis are the eggs or

oocytes. In males, gametogenesis occurs in the testes and is called

spermatogenesis; the final cells produced by spermatogenesis are

the sperm or spermatozoa. Thus, as a result of gametogenesis,

gametes undergo morphologic differentiation that allows the

second phase of human embryology to occur.

• The second phase of human embryology is fertilization this
process occurs in one of the oviducts of the female after the egg
has been ovulated and enters an oviduct, and sperm have been
deposited in the vagina at coitus. Sperm move from the vagina into
the uterus and finally into the oviducts, where, if an egg is
encountered, fertilization can occur. One of the main effects of
fertilization is to restore the diploid number of chromosomes, that
is, the normal number of chromosomes contained in typical body
cells.
• Because egg and sperm chromosomes are united in a single cell at
fertilization, establishing a new cell called the zygote, fertilization
also results in the production of a new cell having a unique
genome, different from that of the cells of its mother or father. In
addition to restoring the diploid number of chromosomes, another
main effect of fertilization is to activate the egg, allowing
subsequent phases of human embryology to occur.
• The third phase of human embryology is cleavage. During
cleavage, the zygote divides by mitosis into two cells, each of
which quickly divides into two more cells. The process continues
to repeat itself, rapidly forming a solid ball of cells called a
morula. Cleavage differs from the conventional cell division that
occurs in many cell types throughout an organism’s life in that
during cleavage, each daughter cell formed by cleavage is roughly
half the size of its parent cell. In contrast, after conventional cell
division, cells grow roughly to parental cell size before undergoing
the next round of division.
• An effect of cleavage is to increase the nucleocytoplasmic ratio,
that is, the volume of the nucleus compared with the volume of the
cytoplasm. An egg, and subsequently a zygote, has a small
nucleocytoplasmic ratio because it contains a single nucleus and a
large amount of cytoplasm. With each cleavage, the cytoplasm is
partitioned as the nuclei are replicated so that the
nucleocytoplasmic ratio approaches that of a typical body cell.
Another effect of cleavage is to generate a multicellular embryo;
the cells of the morula and the subsequent blastocyst (the structure
formed by hollowing out the morula) are called blastomeres.
• The fourth phase of human embryology is gastrulation. During
gastrulation, cells undergo extensive movements relative to one
another, changing their positions. This brings cells into contact
with new neighbours and allows information to be passed among
cells, ultimately changing their fates. An effect of gastrulation is to
establish primitive tissue layers, called germ layers.
• Three primary germ layers are formed, called ectoderm,
mesoderm, and endoderm. The germ layers give rise to tissues
and organ rudiments during subsequent development. The three
major axes of the embryo become identifiable during gastrulation.
Dorsal-ventral axis, cranial-caudal axis, and medial-lateral axis
(including the left-right axis).
The fifth phase of human embryology is formation of the
body plan.
Some consider this phase to be part of gastrulation, and others
call this phase morphogenesis. Both of these viewpoints make
sense: gastrulation continues during formation of the body plan,
and formation of the body plan involves morphogenesis, that is,
the generation of form. However, formation of the body plan
also involves extensive folding of the embryo.
During gastrulation, the embryo consists of a flat two- or three-
layered disc of cells (depending on its exact stage of development)
that is positioned at the interface between two bubble-like structures:
the amnion (and its enclosed, fluid-filled space, the amniotic cavity
and the yolk sac (and its enclosed, fluid-filled space, the yolk sac
cavity ). Near the perimeter of the embryonic disc, where the disc
joins the amnion and the yolk sac, folding begins. The effect of this
folding, called body folding, is to separate the embryo from its extra
embryonic membranes
(i.e., amnion and yolk sac), except at the level of the future umbilical
cord, and to convert the flat disc into a three-dimensional body plan,
called the tube-within-a-tube body plan.
PERIOD OF HUMAN EMBRYOLOGY
• From a medical or prospective parent’s viewpoint, human prenatal
development is subdivided into three main intervals called the
first, second, and third trimesters, each consisting of 3-month
periods.

• From an embryologist’s viewpoint, there are also three main

subdivisions of human prenatal development, called period of the
egg, period of the embryo, and period of the fetus.
 PERIOD OF EGG
• About 14 days
• During each normal menstrual cycle, one egg (ovum) is usually released from
one of the ovaries, about 14 days after the last menstrual period.
• Each month during ovulation, one egg is usually released. But some times
more than one egg was released.
• Once the egg was released from the ovary, it travels through one of your
fallopian tubes towards from the uterus
• When an egg was mature, it means it’s ready o be fertilized by a sperm cell.
• When an egg cell and sperm cell come together to create a new unique
organism is zygote.
• Zygote (formed at fertilization before the egg becomes multicellular),
morula (formed after the zygote cleaves by mitosis, giving rise to a
mulberry-like cluster of multiple cells or blastomeres), and blastocyst
(a hollow ball of cells derived from the morula by the formation of a
large, fluid-filled central cavity called the blastocele ).
 PERIOD OF EMBRYO

• The development of the zygote can be divided into three periods.

Pre embryonic period( first 2 weeks after
fertilization)
Embryonic period(2 – 8 weeks)
Fetal period(8 weeks to birth)
 PRE EMBRYONIC PERIIOD

• During the first week, the zygote travels along with the uterine tube towards
the uterus. At this stage a strong membrane of glycoproteins called the ‘zona
pellucida’ surrounds the zygote.