Age + Dev - Early Fetal Development Flashcards
What are the 3 ways in which embryo-fetal development can be measured?
→ fertilization age
→ gestational age
→ carnegie age
What is fertilization age?
measured from the time of fertilization (assumed to be +1 day from last ovulation)
Why is fertilization age not very useful?
difficult to know time of fertilization exactly unless it’s IVF
What is gestational age?
→ calculated by time from the beginning of the last menstrual period (lmp)
→ determined by fertilzation date (+14 days) if known, or early obstetric ultrasound + comparison to embryo size charts
What is the carnegie age?
→ based off of 23 stages of embryo development which are based on embryo features rather than time
→ allows comparison of development rates between species
→ covers window of 0-60 days of fertilzation age in humans
How is pregnancy split up into stages to measure embryo-fetal development?
→ embryogenic stage
→ embryonic stage
→ fetal stage
What is the embryogenic stage?
→ 14-16 days post-fertilisation establishing the early embryo from the fertilized oocyte
→ Determining two populations of cells:
- Pluripotent embryonic cells (contribute to fetus)
- Extraembryonic cells (contribute to the support structures eg placenta)
What is the embryonic stage?
→ 16-~50 days post fertilisation
→ Establishment of the germ layers and differentiation of tissue types
→ Establishment of the body plan
What is the fetal stage?
→ ~50 to 270 days post-fertilization or ~8 to ~38 weeks
→ Major organ systems now present
→ Migration of some organ systems to final location
→ Extensive growth and acquisition of fetal viability (survival outside the womb)
What stages of embryo-fetal development occur in the first trimester of pregnancy?
→ embryogenic stage
→ embryonic stage
What stages of embryo-fetal development occur in the 2nd + 3rd trimester of pregnancy?
fetal stage
What does the ovulated oocyte become after fertilisation?
zygote
How many cells in a zygote?
1 cell
What is the next stage of development for a zygote?
cleavage division into “cleavage stage embryos”
How many cells are there in cleavage stage embryos?
2-8 cells
What is the next stage of development for cleavage stage embryos?
morula
How many cells are there in morula?
16+ cells
What is the next stage of development for morula?
blastocyst
How many cells are there in blastocyst?
200 - 300 cells
Where do the first few days of life take place in the female gonads?
happens while egg migrates from ovaries through fallopian tubes to the uterus
What is the first major developmental transition in the first few stages of life?
maternal-to-zygotic transition
What is the maternal-to-zygotic transition?
→ embryo stops being dependent on maternal mRNAs + proteins to get through first divisions
→ transcription of embryonic genes occurs + zygotic genome activation
→ increased protein synthesis
→ organelle (mitochondria + golgi) maturation
How does zygote survive before zygotic genome activation?
Dependent on maternal mRNAs + proteins (that were synthesised + stored during oocyte development) to get through the first divisions
What happens when mRNA + proteins are not properly synthesised or stored or interpreted properly?
Can impair embryonic development
When does the maternal-zygotic transition occur in terms of cell stage and human development time?
→ 4-8 cell stage
→ 2 days post-fertilization
What is the process that forms the morula + blastocyst?
Compaction
How does compaction produce a compacted morula?
→ Outer cells become pressed against zona
→ Change from spherical to wedge-shaped.
→ Outer cells connect to each other through tight gap junctions and desmosomes
→ Forms barrier to diffusion between inner and outer embryo
→ Outer cells become polarised
What is the arrangement of the compacted morula?
2 distinct cell populations:
→ inner
→ outer
How does a morula formation change to form a blastocyst?
Inner cells + outer cells reorganise with the formation of the blastocoel cavity
What are the different parts of the blastocyst?
→ zona pellucida
→ trophectoderm
→ inner cell mass
→ blastocoel
What is the purpose of the zona pellucida for the blastocyst?
Hard protein shell inhibiting polyspermy and protects early embryo
What is the purpose of the trophectoderm for the blastocyst?
Extra-embryonic cells that contribute to the extraembryonic structures that support development
What is the purpose of the inner cell mass for the blastocyst?
Pluripotent embryonic cells that will contribute to the final organism
What is the purpose of the blastocoel for the blastocyst?
Fluid-filled cavity formed
osmotically by
trophoblast pumping
Na+ ions into cavity
How does that blastocyst implant in the uterus?
blastocyst must escape zona pellucida
How does that blastocyst escape the zona pellucida?
→ enzymatic digestion
→ cellular contractions