Embryology Flashcards
Describe fertilisation.
Occurs in ampulla, the widest part of the uterine tube. Sperm head penetrates ovum wall and releases chromosomal content into egg. Haploid gametes fuse to form a diploid zygote, the sex of which is determined at fertilisation.
Describe the process of implantation.
- Morula (16 cells) at isthmus of uterine tube.
- Internal cells become embryoblast, which will later form the embryo, and external cells become trophoblasts, which will later form the placenta.
- Morula becomes a blastocyst when it becomes leaky and cells move to one side with fluid filled cavity.
- Zona pellucida shed and blastocyst attaches to uterine wall and is implanted.
Define gastrulation.
Formation of trilaminar germ discs:
Epiblast and hypoblast become ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm.
Describe the process of gastrulation.
- Primitive streak formed from caudal proliferating cells migrating centrally. Amniotic cavity above and yolk below.
- Some cells stay in epiblast and become ectoderm, some cells go to the middle and become mesoderm, and some epiblast cells displace hypoblast and become endoderm.
What do the germ layers become?
Ectoderm - epidermis of skin, central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
Mesoderm - blood, bone, muscle, dermis, and connective tissue of respiratory and GI tracts
Endoderm - GI organs, GI epithelium and respiratory tract epithelium
What does notochord induce?
Proliferation of paraxial mesoderm and development of neural folds in ectoderm.
What are the 2 ways that blood vessels can form?
Vasculogenesis - cells come together to for blood islands and new vessels form from these.
Angiogenesis - new vessels branch out from existing ones.
How is the aorta and the endocardial tubes formed?
At cranial end of germ disc, blood islands fuse to form a horseshoe shaped endothelial tube surrounded by myocardial muscle.
- Inner parts of horseshoe forms aorta on each side of the embryo
- Outer parts form the endocardial/heart tube via primitive cell death in a long and complex process.
When the heart is developing, what are the 5 swellings that form to initiate this?
Sinus venosus - where blood enters Primitive atrium Ventricle Bulbus cordis Truncus arteriosus - will form arteries
How does the heart develop from the 5 swellings?
- Heart tube contracts, starting in sinus venosus, which will become SAN, and blood flows through.
- Primitive heart tube folds and sinus venosus forms smooth parts of atria and coronary sinus.
- Primitive atrium forms rougher more muscular parts of atrium and forms auricle pectinate muscles.
- Primitive ventricle forms the left ventricle.
- Bulbus cordis forms right ventricle and part where the aorta and pulmonary trunk begin.
- Truncus arteriosus forms distal aorta and pulmonary trunk.
Describe the process of septal development.
- Endocardial cushion forms tissue in the middle.
- Endocardial cushion forms septum intermedium.
- Septum primum grows down to meet septum intermedium.
- As ostium primum closes, ostium secundum appears.
- Septum secundum grows down to the right of septum primum, leaving gap for foramen ovale.
What can lead to ventricular septal defects?
Interventricular septum doe not meet septum intermedium and the gap is filled by membrane. This stage is complicated and many things can go wrong.
What is tetralogy of fallot and its effects?
Septal spirals do not divide outflow completely. Involves 4 defects:
- A ventricular septal defect - where blood is passed from right to left ventricle.
- Pulmonary stenosis - narrowing
- Narrow pulmonary trunk - more force needed, right ventricle hypertrophy
- Wider aorta
In fetal circulation, what is the function of the ductus venosus?
Blood from umbilical vein drains into caudal vena cava via ductus venosus.
In fetal circulation, what is the function of the ductus arteriosus?
Blood crosses to the aorta from the pulmonary trunk via the ductus arteriosus.
Describe fetal circulation.
- Oxygenated blood from the placenta gets to the fetus via the umbilical vein.
- Blood bypasses liver tissue.
- Blood drains into caudal vena cava via the ductus venosus, and into the right atrium.
- There is no pulmonary circulation yet so goes to the left atrium via the foramen ovale, then passing to the left ventricle and aorta.
- Deoxygenated blood returns to the right atrium, to the right ventricle and pulmonary trunk.
- Crosses to aorta via ductus arteriosus.
- Blood goes around the body and then to the umbilical arteries.
When an animal is born, what changes occur in the fetal circulation?
Animal takes a breath and the lungs inflate. Umbilical vessels and ductus venosus shrivel up. The 2 septums fuse together and hole closes, with remnant fossa ovalis. The ductus arteriosus becomes the ligamentum arteriosum.
Describe how the lungs develop?
- Bud from foregut called the tracheobronchial diverticulum forms 2 separate lungs.
- Common cranial portion forms trachea.
- Septum called tracheoesophageal septum rises between trachea and oesophagus.
- Trachea and oesophagus share an opening near laryngopharynx.
Describe how the bronchial tree develops.
Buds keep dividing, forming primary bronchi first, secondary bronchi, tertiary bronchi, and then segmental bronchi.
As terminal parts of the lung develop, respiratory bronchioles and alveoli ducts form.