Lecture 5 & 6: Early Embryology Flashcards
What is the definition of pre-embryonic period?
Weeks 1 & 2 of pre-natal development
What is the definition of embryonic period?
Weeks 3 to 8 of pre-natal development
What is the definition of fetal period?
Weeks 9 to term of pre-natal development
What are the changes taking place as the fertilized human ovum (zygote) travels down the Fallopian tube towards the uterus?
- Undergoes cleavage: successive cell divisions within the zona pellucida
- Takes 4 days
What is a zygote?
A single cell, the product of fertilization of an ovum by a sperm, produced by fusion of the male & female pronuclei
What is cleavage?
Successive cell divisions
What is a zona pellucida?
Glycoproteins shell that surrounds the oocyte
What is a morula?
- The ‘mulberry’
- Solid ball of cells resulting from cleavage of cells of the zygote
What is an ovary?
Organ that produces an ovum
What is a Fallopian tube?
Tube that connects the uterus to the ovaries
What is a uterus?
Hollow organ where a fetus develops and grows
What is the process of formation of the blastocyst?
- After third cleavage, compaction occurs
- Blastomeres maximize contact with each other, forming a compact ball of cells (morula)
- Spaces between the cells of the morula merges
- Forms one large central space (blastocoele)
- Morula is converted into a hollow sphere of cells (blastocyst)
What are the initial stages of implantation?
- Blastocyst hatches from zona pellucida
- Can now interact with uterine surface to implant
- Inner cell mass becomes the embryo
- Outer cell mass becomes the trophoblast
- Trophoblastic placenta develops the syncytiotrophoblast
- Syncytiotrophoblast first adheres to, and then invades the modified endometrium
What is the blastocyst?
Hollow sphere of cells formed from the morula through the process of compaction whereby fluid is pumped in to create the blastocoele, leaving an inner cell mass and an outer cell mass
What is the trophoblast?
- Outer cell mass that was pushed to the outside of the blastocyst during compaction
- Destined to produce the tissues supporting the embryo/fetus during development
What is the inner cell mass?
- Embryoblast
- Group of cells inside the blastocyst that goes on to form the embryo proper
What is implantation?
When the sycyntiotrophoblast adheres to and invades the modified endometrium
What is the cytotrophoblast?
Inner layer of trophoblast
What is the syncytiotrophoblast?
- Outer layer of trophoblast
- Determines which substances cross the placenta and which do not
How does the embryonic disc form?
- Cell differentiations occurs in the inner cell mass
- Blastocyst formed 2 layers (ectoderm and endoderm)