The extraembryonic mesoderm
lining the inside of the
cytotrophoblast is then known as
THE CHORIONIC
PLATE
The only place where
extraembryonic mesoderm
traverses the chorionic cavity is in
THE
CONNECTING
STALK
With development of blood
vessels, the stalk becomes
THE UMBILICAL
CORD
It is not birth, marriage or death,
but
gastrulation,
which is truly the most important time in your
life
Lewis Wolpert (1986)
The most characteristic event
occurring during the third week
of gestation
is
GASTRULATION,
the process that establishes all three
germ layers in the embryo
ENDODERM
1-ECTODERM
2-MESODERM
3-ENDODERM
When viewed from
above, through the
amniotic cavity, the
epiblast appears as
an oval disc
The cells of the EPIBLAST
are capable of
proliferation and
migration
These two features of the
epiblast will lead to:
The cells of the
epiblast start to
proliferate forming
a swilling called
PRIMITIVE NODE
As the primitive node elongates
THE PRIMITIVE STREAK
appears
Cranial End
As
soon as the primitive streak appears,
it is possible to
identify the embryo’s
1-Craniocaudal axis
(Cranial & Caudal Ends)
2- Dorsal & Ventral Surfaces
3- Right & Left Sides
Caudal End
Cells of the
epiblast
migrate toward the
primitive streak .
The cells of the
primitive streak
ingress in the epiblast
making a pore in the
middle
Upon arrival in the
region of the streak, they
detach from the
epiblast, and slip
beneath it.
This inward
movement is
known as
invagination.
Once the cells have
invaginated, some displace the
hypoblast, creating the
embryonic
ENDODERM
Other cells come to lie between
the epiblast and newly created
endoderm to form
MESODERM
Cells remaining in the epiblast then form
ECTODERM.
Thus, THE EPIBLAST, through the
process of gastrulation,
is the source of all of the
germ layers.
cells in these layers will give rise to all of
the tissues and organs in the
embryo.
The primitive streak actively forms mesoderm until
the early part of the fourth week; thereafter, its production
slows down. The streak diminishes in relative size
and becomes an insignificant structure in the sacrococcygeal
region of the embryo
A to D, Dorsal views of the embryonic disc, showing how it lengthens and
changes shape during the third week. The primitive streak lengthens by the addition of cells at
its caudal end; the notochordal process lengthens by the migration of cells from the primitive
node. At the end of the third week, the notochordal process is transformed into the
notochord.
A swelling appears on the upper surface of the hypoblast called
NOTOCHORD
Because of the
presence of
the notochord
in the middle
of the
trilaminar
disc ,
the migrating
cells from the
epiblast will
fill only the
paraxial
region
(the area
around
the axis)
The notochord
grows cranially between
the ectoderm and endoderm
until it reaches the prechordal plate
Primitive pit and neurenteric canal
ectoderm
Notochord
Prechordal plate Cloacal plate membrane
The notochord
can extend no farther because the prechordal plate is
firmly attached to the overlying ectoderm.
Formation of the Notochord
1-Prenotochordal cells invaginating in the primitive pit
And
become intercalated in the hypoblast to form the
notochordal plate
Notochordal plate
Intraembryonic mesoderm Endoderm
2-cells of the notochordal plate proliferate and detach from the endoderm. They
then form a solid cord of cells,
the definitive notochord
The cranial end of the notochord forms first and caudal regions are added later.
The notochord extend cranially to the prechordal plate and caudally to the primitive pit.
At the point where the pit forms an indentation in the epiblast, the neurenteric canal
temporarily connects the amniotic and
yolk sac cavities
Primitive pit and neurenteric canal
ectoderm
Notochord
Prechordal plate Cloacal plate membrane
Because
of the presence of the
notochord in the middle
of the trilaminar disc ,
the migrating cells from
the epiblast will fill only
the paraxial region
(the area around
the axis)
The
notochord
gives rise to the
Nucleus
pulpous
Of the intervertebral
disk
