Early Embryology Flashcards
What are the number of gestational weeks?
- 38
What are the stages of fertilisation?
- Oocyte is released from the ovary
- Travels down Fallopian (uterine) tube
- Fertilised by sperm in the ampulla
- Fertilised ooctyce is called the zygote
- Ideal site for implantation is the posterior uterine wall
What are the number of pregnancy weeks?
- 40
- Different to gestational as is calculated from the last menstrual period
What weeks is the pre-embryonic period?
- 1-2
What weeks is the embryonic period?
- 3-8
What weeks is the fetal period?
- 9-38
Define zygote
- A fertilised ovum/ooctye
Define cleavage
- The dividing of cells into 2 masses known as blastomeres (are identical to each other and to zygote)
- First cleavage happens ~30 hours after fertilisation (resting period)
Define zona pellucida
- The glycoprotein shell to prevent polyspermy
Define morula
- The result of further cleavage divisions of the fertilised oocyte
- Each cell is totipotent (has the capacity to become any cell)
Define ovary
- The female reproductive organ producing oocytes/eggs for fertilisation
Define Fallopian tube
- Tube that the ooctye travels along to reach the uterus
- The egg is fertilised at the ampulla of the Fallopian tube
Define uterus
- Female reproductive organ where implantation of the zygote and the growth of the embryo occurs
Define blastocyst
- Formed from the compaction of cells that make up the morula
Define trophoblast
- Outer cell mass that will later firm support structures for the embryo ie placenta
Define embryo last
- Inner cell mass that will later become the bilaminar disc
Define implantation
- The attachment of the blastocyst to the wall of the uterus at day 6-7
Define cytotrophoblast
- Is a derivative of the trophoblast
- Forms the placental membrane around the yolk sac
Define syncytiotrophoblast
- Derivative of the trophoblast
- Cells that invade maternal sinusoids (irregular blood vessels) resulting in uteroplacental circulation
What stages occur during week 1?
- Compaction (day 4)
- Hatching (day 5)
- Implantation begins (day 6-7)
What happens during compaction?
- Blastomeres making up the morula compact to form the blastocyst
- First differentiation has occurred (cells are now pluripotent-can become many cells
What does the blastocyst consist of?
- Embroblast (inner cell mass)
- Trophoblast (outer cell mass)
- Blastocyst cavity
What happens during hatching?
- Blastocyst hatches from the zona pellucida
- Is no longer constrained and is now free to enlarge
- Can now interact with the uterine surface to implant
What is the structure of the conceptus at the beginning of implantation?
- Conceptus now has 107 cells
~ 8 will make the embryo
~ 99 will begin the development of the foetal membrane
What is the second week know as and what begins?
- ‘Week of twos’
- Both embryo and placenta start to form
- Placenta has priority at earliest
What happens on week 2, day 8?
- Embryoblast differentiates into the epiblast and hypoblast, which both make up then bilaminar disc
- Trophoblast differentiates in the cytotrophoblast and the syncytiotrophoblast
- The amniotic cavity forms above the bilaminar disc
- The blastocyst cavity is still present below the bilaminar disc
What has happened by day 9-10?
- Implantation is complete
Describe implantation
- Is interstitial ie is invasive, surrounded and embedded
- The uterine epithelium is breached and the conceptus implants within the uterine stroma
- Establishes maternal blood flow within the placental ie support of the embryo changes from histotrophic (dependent on simple diffusion across cell membrane) to haemotrophic (has access to maternal blood flow)
What are implantation defects? Give examples
- Implantation at inappropriate sites can cause problems
- Ectopic pregnancy: implantation at site other than the uterine body (most commonly the Fallopian tube); can quickly become a life-threatening emergency
- Placenta Praevia: implantation in lower uterine segment; placenta grows across cervical opening; requires c-section delivery
- Pre-eclampsia
- IUGR (inter-uterine growth restriction)
What happens on week 2, day 9?
- At the embryonic pole:
~ rapid development of the syncytiotrophoblast - At the abembryonic pole:
~ primitive yolk sac formed by Heuser’s membrane (hypoblast cells and extracellular matrix) spreading across the blastocyst cavity
~ yolk sac membrane is in contact with the cytotrophoblast layer