CHAPTER 8

EMBRYOLOGY
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OBJECTIVES

• Describe three layers of the embryo and organs formed from each
layer
• List embryologic age at initial organ formation
• Compare and contrast development of GI tract and accessory GI
organs
• Compare and contrast development of the heart, aorta, and inferior
vena cava

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OBJECTIVES

• Compare and contrast the functions of the umbilical arteries and

umbilical vein
• Describe the differences between an embryo and a fetus
• Explain the difference between gestational age, postovulatory age, and
the Carnegie staging system

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FERTILIZATION

• Fertilization—approximately 2 weeks after the end of the last

menstrual period
• Zygote—formed from union of sperm and ova
– Contains 23 chromosomes from female and 23 from male
– Three weeks after last menstrual period, zygote has travelled through
fallopian tube
– Implants in uterus as blastocyst
– In fourth week, embryonic period begins

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EMBRYOLOGY

• Organ development in the embryo occurs in three specific stages:

– Cytogenesis—the development of cells
– Histogenesis—the formation of cells into tissues
– Organogenesis—the formation of tissues into organs

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EMBRYO

• The embryo consists of three layers:

– Ectoderm—outer layer, from which brain, spinal cord, spine, and spinal
nerves will develop
– Mesoderm—middle layer, from which heart, early circulatory system,
bones, muscles, kidneys, and reproductive system develop
– Endoderm—inner layer, from which lungs, intestines, and urinary
bladder will develop

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ORGANOGENESIS

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EMBRYOLOGIC
DEVELOPMENT

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HEART AND ABDOMINAL
AORTA DEVELOPMENT
• Cardiovascular system is the first system to become functional in the
embryo
• Embryonic heart is formed at the same time as the aorta
• Begins beating at approximately 22 days of actual embryonic age

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INFERIOR VENA CAVA
DEVELOPMENT

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PORTAL VENOUS
DEVELOPMENT
• Portal vein develops during
approximately the eighth
embryologic week
• Venous tributaries are also
formed from a primitive
vascular network
• Venous tributaries join the
main portal vein at its
inferior aspect

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BILIARY SYSTEM
DEVELOPMENT
• Liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and part of pancreas are
formed by the ventral diverticulum or sac
• Septum transversum is the mesodermal structure that
becomes the connective tissue framework of the liver
• This process begins at approximately 4 weeks
• Gallbladder is present in the fetus and is often noted on
sonography—nonfunctional until birth

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 LIVER DEVELOPMENT
• Liver develops from the
foregut
• Hepatic parenchyma is
composed of hepatocytes
interspersed with Kupffer
cells and organized into
lobules

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PANCREAS DEVELOPMENT

• Pancreas gland is formed from ventral and dorsal diverticula of the

primitive foregut
• Ventral portion forming most of the head of the pancreas and the
dorsal portion forming the entire body and tail

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URINARY SYSTEM
DEVELOPMENT
• Kidneys pass embryonically
through three developmental
stages:
– Pronephros
– Mesonephros
– Metanephros

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SPLEEN DEVELOPMENT

• Development of the spleen begins at the fifth week of gestation; arises

from the mesodermal cells
• During embryonic life, the spleen is important in producing red and
white blood cells
• By the fifth or sixth month of gestation, the spleen begins to assume
its smooth ovoid adult shape and adult functions

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 GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
DEVELOPMENT
• Primitive gut develops from the posterior portion of the
yolk sac during the fourth embryonic week
• Divided into four parts:
– Foregut
– Midgut
– Hindgut
– Tailgut

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GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
DEVELOPMENT (CONT.)
• Duodenum develops from both the caudal portion of the foregut and
the cranial portion of the midgut, forming a C-shaped loop that
projects ventrally
• Peristalsis occurs by the eleventh week and swallowing begins at the
twelfth week
• By the twentieth week, the GI tract has reached its normal
configuration and relative size

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MALE PELVIS DEVELOPMENT

• Testicles arise in the fetal upper abdomen near the developing kidneys
• In the fourth month, the testes descend to the level of the urinary
bladder, where they remain until approximately the seventh month of
gestation
• Testes descend through the inguinal canal and into the scrotum after
the seventh month

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FEMALE PELVIS
DEVELOPMENT
• Müllerian ducts of the female embryo fuse midline to form the vagina,
uterus, and fallopian tubes
• Wolffian ducts degenerate in the female embryo, leaving only
remnants along the broad ligaments and vaginal walls

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CONGENITAL UTERINE
MALFORMATIONS

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BREAST DEVELOPMENT

• Mammary ridges are visible

by 6 weeks’ gestation
• By 8 weeks’ gestation, a bud
has developed
• These will further develop into
the lactiferous ducts during
puberty

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THYROID AND PARATHYROID
DEVELOPMENT
• Thyroid gland arises from the
median, saclike endodermal
diverticulum (thyroid sac)
• Parathyroid glands develop
from the third and fourth
pharyngeal pouches

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 NEONATAL BRAIN
DEVELOPMENT
• At 5 to 6 weeks’
gestation, the most
anterior brain vesicle,
the prosencephalon,
folds to form the
separate:
– Telencephalon (end
brain)
– Diencephalon (in-
between brain)

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NEONATAL BRAIN
DEVELOPMENT (CONT.)
• Proliferation of the developing brain’s neurons occurs between the
second and fourth months of gestation
• Neuronal migration primarily occurs during the third to fifth months
of gestation
• From approximately the sixth month of gestation to several years after
birth, major organizational events occur

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ANY QUESTIONS?

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