Embryology 1 & 2 Flashcards
What is the name of the cell in males that divides to form sperm?
Spermatogonium
What type of cell is spermatogonium, diploid or haploid?
Diploid
What happens to the spermatogonium?
It undergoes meiosis (two phases), to produce 4x sperm cells.
What type of cell is sperm?
Haploid
What is the name of the cell in females that divides to form an ovum?
Oogonium
What type of cell is an oogonium, and how many chromosomes does it have?
Diploid, 46 chromosomes.
What happens to the oogonium?
It undergoes meiosis in two phases, the first in utero but the second does not take place until roughly teenage age, whereby an ovum and three polar bodies are produced.
What type of cell is an ovum, and how many chromosomes does it possess?
Haploid, 23 chromosomes.
What is the name given to sperm and ovum cells?
Gametes
What name is given to the production of sperm?
Spermatogenesis
What name is given to the production of an ovum?
Oogenesis
What are the three prenatal periods of embryology?
- Pre-embryonic phase (week 1-3)
- Embryonic phase (week 4-8)
- Foetal phase (week 9-40)
Embryogenesis
Fetogenesis
What happens during fertilisation?
What new cell is formed?
The pro-nucleus of a sperm enters penetrates the ovum and fuses with the pro-nucleus of the ovum to form a zygote.
Why do males with low sperm count struggle to fertilise a female egg?
In order for fertilisation to take place, there must be lots of sperm surrounding the egg, even though only one penetrates (normally).
What is a zygote?
Where about is it formed, and in which week of pregnancy?
The first cell formed after fertilisation.
It is formed from the sperm and ovum fusing together, it is a diploid cell with 46 chromosomes.
It is formed in the uterine tube, in week one.
Why is the zygote genetically unique?
It contains genetic information from both mum and dads chromosomes. Also, each sperm and ovum is genetically unique thus the reason siblings have different physical and personal traits.
What is the morula?
After fertilisation, the zygote begins to undergo a process of division (mitosis), it divides into 2, then 4, then 8 and so on.
This produces a solid ball of cells called the morula, which can then go on to form the blastocyst.
Why is the fact that only the nucleus of the father fuses with the ovum clinically important?
It means that all organelles are inherited from the mother so in genetic abnormalities carried in the mitochondrial DNA will only be passed on by the mother.
Why does the morula form a blastocyst?
As the morula grows in size, the cells become compressed and struggle to receive nutrition.
To get around this, a blastocystic cavity is formed where nutrients can reach the growing mass of cells.
Describe the structure of a blastocyst.
There is an inner blastocystic cavity, an inner mass of cells which accumulates at one end and an outer layer called the trophoblast.
What does the trophoblast differentiate to form?
The placenta and the membranes around sacs around the foetus (amniotic sac), and also the umbilical cord.
Describe the movement of the zygote from the ovaries to the uterus and the changes that it undergoes?
How long does this process take?
The ovum is usually fertilised by sperm to form the zygote shortly after release from the ovary at the distal end of the uterine tube.
The zygote begins to undergo mitosis as it travels along the uterine tube toward the uterus, it becomes the morula in the process. The morula is aided by the ciliated squamous cells which surface the fallopian tubes.
By the time the cell reaches the uterus, it is a blastocyst. This process takes about one week.
What issues in the uterine tube can lead to serious complications?
Uterine tubes can become seriously affected by infection (e.g. chlamydia), pelvic inflammatory disease, fibrous/scar tissue etc.
This can affect the cilia, and the transport of the zygote to the uterus. If the zygote/blastocyst becomes lodged in the uterine tube, it can lead to an ectopic pregnancy which could rupture and cause serious complications.
What is the next stage that happens, once the blastocyst has reached the uterus?
Roughly, when does this happen?
Implantation
At the end of week one (day 6)
Where does the blastocyst implant in the uterus?
Uterine endometrial layer (endometrium)
What happens to the trophoblast during implantation?
It divides to form two layers. It ultimately forms the chorion.
What three main things does the chorion do?
- Facilitates implantation into the endometrium (chorionic villi).
- Goes on to form the placenta.
- Releases hormone HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin).
What does the hormone HCG do?
The chorion secretes HCG into the bloodstream, this hormone sends a messenger to the ovaries to continue secreting oestrogen which maintains the endometrium with implanted blastocyst.
It is also what is used to detect pregnancy in urine.
What is the decidua basalis?
Decidua = endometrium Basalis = basal layer
It is part of the endometrium deep to the implanted conceptus, it becomes the mothers side of the placenta.
What does the inner mass of the blastocyst form on implantation?
The cells of the inner cell mass form a 2–layered flat disc called the bilaminar disc.