Human Embryology

Dr. Anushri Mukhopadhyay

 Prenatal period or embryogenesis

 from fertilization till birth

 lasts 280 days
40 weeks
10 lunar months
 Embryogenesis periods

 Initial period – the 1st week of development

 Embryonic period – from the 2nd week until the 8th weeks
 Fetal period – from the 8th weeks up to the birth

an embryo 
during the first two months

a fetus
from the third month until birth
 Embryonic development stages

 Fertilization
 Cleavage
 Gastrulation
 Germ layer initial differentiation
and axial organ formation
 Histogenesis and organogenesis

 Embryogenesis is accompanied by
- provisory organ development
- implantation
- placentation
 Initial period – the first week of development

 Fertilization
 Cleavage
 Implantation
 Fertilization is the sequence of events by which a sperm
fuses with an ovum, forming a zygote

 occurs in the oviduct ampulla

 lasts about 24 h
 Ovum passes into the tubular ampulla by

 beating action of cilia

 muscular contractions  an ovum
(secondary oocyte)
(stimulated by estrogens)
 Spermatozoa pass into the tubular ampulla by
 movements of sperm tails
 uterus muscular contractions
(stimulated by seminal plasma prostaglandins)
 chemotaxis and reotaxis
 Spermatozoa are reduced in number during the passage
through the female reproductive tract

 due to the elimination of abnormal and poorly motile sperms

 sperm selection mainly occurs in the cervical canal

and

the oviduct isthmus

Capacitation is the enzymatic removal of glycocalyx coat
from the sperm membrane over the acrosome

 It takes about 7 hours to capacitate

 Acrosome reaction consists of structural changes

 Acrosome membrane fuses at many places with the sperm head plasmalemma
 Fused membranes rupture  multiple perforations
 Enzymes leave the acrosome through perforations
Membrane fusion in acrosome reaction
 Acrosomal enzymes

 facilitate the sperm passage through the ovum envelopes

Hyaluronidase  Corona radiata
Acrosin  Zona pellucida
 Penetration

 Sperm head is attached to the ovum surface

 Plasma membranes of the ovum and sperm fuse
and then break down
 Sperm nucleus and sperm centriole enter the ovum
cytoplasm

 Sperm plasma membrane and the tail

remain outside and degenerate
 Cortical reaction occurs when the first sperm passes
through the zona pellucida

 Cortical granules open and release enzymes

 Enzymes modify the zona pellucida
 Zona pellucida becomes zona fertilization

 Zona fertilization is impermeable to sperms

 Cortical reaction prevents polyspermy
 Human zygote is synkaryon
because contains two pronuclei

 Secondary oocyte completes the meiotic division 

 Ovum nucleus is the female pronucleus
 Sperm nucleus enlarges to form the male pronucleus


 Fertilization completion

 Male and female pronuclei

- approach each other
- come in contact
- lose their nuclear membranes

 Maternal and paternal chromosomes intermingle

at the metaphase of the first division of cleavage
 Cleavage is a process of successive rapid mitotic divisions
without growth of the daughter cells called blastomeres

 Cleavage mitotic divisions lack G1 phase

 Cell cytoplasm volume does not increase
 Blastomeres become progressively smaller
until they acquire the size of the somatic cells

 The normal nucleus to the cytoplasm

volume ratio is restored
 Human cleavage characteristics

 Holoblastic (total)
 Unequal
 Asynchronous
 Early blastomeres retain totipotentiality

 blastomere separation  development of identical twins

~30%


 Cleavage begins in the oviduct and is completed in the uterus

 in the oviduct during the first 3 days


morula

 in the uterus for 3 to 4 days


blastula
 Human morula

 consists of from 8 to 16 blastomeres

 enters the uterus as it is forming


Human blastula is called blastocyst

 Trophoblast

chorion
part of the placenta

 Embryoblast

embryo proper
other provisional organs

 Blastocele with fluid

Blastocyst is surrounded by the zona pellucida that prevents early implantation

Duplication of the embryoblast results in twinning

~70%


 Implantation is the blastocyst invasion into the endometrium

 begins on the 5th or 6th day after fertilization

 Zona pellucida
- disappears
 Trophoblast
- attaches itself to the uterine epithelium
 Beginning of implantation

 hatching 

 adhesion 
 Trophoblast differentiation

 inner layer – cytotrophoblast

 outer layer – syncytiotrophoblast
(symplastotrophoblast)
 Syncytiotrophoblast displays high metabolic activity

 produces and releases enzymes facilitating the blastocyst invasion

Syncytiotrophoblast processes invade the uterine mucosa

 - epithelium
 - stroma
 - vessels
 - glands
 Blastocyst goes deeper and deeper until the whole of it has
buried itself in the thickness of the endometrium

 Invasion lasts about 40 hours

 Decidual cell layer restricts the blastocyst invasion

 Invasion stimulates the decidual reaction

endometrial stromal cells


undergo transformation

decidual cells 
-large
-pale
-rich in glycogen
 By the 10th day the blastocyst is completely embedded
in the endometrium

 Interstitional type of implantation 


For about two days, the endometrium defect is closed
by a closing plug

 Consisting of
- blood clot
- cellular debris



 Implantation continues and is completed in the second week

 epithelium covers the endometrium defect

 by the 12th day of development


 Implantation window is the period
when the uterus is receptive for blastocyst invasion

 from the 6th day till the 10th day

after ovulation


 Progesterone secreted by the corpus luteum prepares the endometrium for implantation
 Implantation site is an endometrial region
where the blastocyst invasion occurs

 midportion of the uterine body

 on the posterior wall
 Implantation in the lower uterine segment

 results in the placenta previa (placental presentation)


and severe bleeding
 Ectopic (abnormal) implantation

 is implantation in other organs

 Implantation in the uterine tube

 Decidual reaction fails to occur in the oviduct

 Tubular pregnancy ends with the oviduct rupture and bleeding

 Embryonic period - the second week of development

 The 1st stage of gastrulation

 Formation of the provisory organs
- amniotic vesicle
- yolk sac
- chorion




 The first stage of gastrulation

 results in
- bilaminar embryonic disk formation
 occurs
- on the 7th day of development
- concurrently with implantation
Only embryoblast participates in the first stage of gastrulation

 Embryoblast

 delamination

 bilaminar disk 

- upper layer – epiblast

- lower layer – hypoblast
 Epiblast gives rise to all three germ layers
Hypoblast does not take part in the embryo body formation

 Epiblast

ectoderm mesoderm endoderm

 Hypoblast

is displaced to extraembryonic regions
 Provisory organ formation

 Amniotic vesicle
 Yolk sac
- are associated with the embryonic disk
 Epiblast forms the amniotic vesicle floor, hypoblast forms
the yolk sac roof

 Amniotic wall

amniotic epithelium

 Yolk sac wall


 extraembryonic endoderm
 Extraembryonic mesoderm

 surrounds the amnion and yolk sac

 forms connecting stalk
 underlies the trophoblast


 Chorion wall surrounds the chorionic cavity and forms villi

 Primary chorionic villi

- cytotrophoblast
- syncytiotrophoblast
 Secondary chorionic villi
- extraembryonic mesoderm
- cytotrophoblast
- syncytiotrophoblast
 Trophoblastic lacunar network

 Syncytiotrophoblast produces enzymes

 Enzymes erode the endometrium, forming the lacunae
 Lacunae are filled with maternal blood from ruptured vessels

chorionic villi contact with maternal blood,

 providing the mother-embryo exchange
 Embryo associated with the amnion and yolk sac is
suspended in the chorionic cavity by the connecting stalk

 connecting stalk attaches the complex

to the inner surface of the chorionic sac


 Second week of development is called “the period of twos”

 Embryonic disc
- epiblast
- hypoblast
 Vesicles
- amnion
- yolk sac
 Trophoblast
- cytotrophoblast
- syncytiotrophoblast
 Human embryology is characterized by
the early development of the provisory organs

 Chorion
 Amnion
 Yolk sac
 Chorion appears in the 2nd week

 forms the chorionic sac

 consists of villi
- primary
- secondary
- tertiary

 is in contact with maternal blood 

 Chorion exists up to birth

 Chorion functions
- mother-embryo exchange
- nutrient production
- enzyme secretion
(to erode the endometrium)
- immune defence
- hormone release
- placenta formation


 Human chorionic gonadotropin - hCG

 Is secreted
- by the syncytiotrophoblast
- into maternal blood
 Is excreted
- with maternal urine 
 Maintains
- corpus luteum activity
- progesterone secretion

• hCG detection in the woman’s urine is a simple, rapid, and an early test of
pregnancy
 Amnion appears in the 2nd week of embryonic development

 is filled with amniotic fluid

 consists of
- amniotic epithelium
- extraembryonic mesoderm


 Amnion exists up to the birth

 amnion grows with fetus development

and fills the chorionic cavity

 by the 8th week

- surrounds the umbilical cord
- becomes a part of the fetal bladder 
or amniochorionic membranes
- underlies the fetal placenta part
 Amnion functions

 Amnion provides
- fetus watery environment
- fetus mechanical defence (water cushion)
- fetus body temperature control
- fetus free movements
- fetus muscular-skeletal development
 Yolk sac appears in the 2nd week of embryonic development

 consists of
- yolk sac endoderm
- extraembryonic mesoderm
 is filled with
- serous fluid
(yolk has been spent in the 1st day of development)
 Yolk sac exists for two months
Its remnant will be a part of the umbilical cord

 Yolk sac functions

- primary hemopoiesis
- primary angiogenesis
- primary germ cell (gonoblast) localization
Provisory organs of identical twins

~70%
 The End

Thank you for attention!