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Lecture 3

Embryology is the study of the development of an embryo from fertilization to the fetus stage, covering various stages such as zygote, morula, and blastula. Historical concepts in embryology evolved from preformation to epigenesis, with significant contributions from scientists like Karl Ernst von Baer and modern advancements linking genetics to morphological changes. Current research in embryology focuses on genetic control, cell signaling, and implications for diseases and stem cell research.

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3 views

Lecture 3

Embryology is the study of the development of an embryo from fertilization to the fetus stage, covering various stages such as zygote, morula, and blastula. Historical concepts in embryology evolved from preformation to epigenesis, with significant contributions from scientists like Karl Ernst von Baer and modern advancements linking genetics to morphological changes. Current research in embryology focuses on genetic control, cell signaling, and implications for diseases and stem cell research.

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arkmsksh
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EMBRYOLOGY

LECTURE 3
1 Instructor: Dr. Muhammad Asif Rasheed
EMBRYOLOGY
 The science of the development of
an embryo
A multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest
stage of development
 Until about eight weeks after fertilization
 From the fertilization of the ovum to
the fetus stage
 Fertilization
 Zygot

 Morula

 Blastula

 Embryo

 Fetus
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 Birth
HISTORY OF EMBRYOLOGY
 During 18th century, the concept in human
embryology was preformation
 The idea that semen contains an embryo
 A preformed, miniature infant
 That simply becomes larger during development

 Better explanation of embryonic


development was epigenesis
 Morphogenesis and development of an organism
 Originally proposed 2,000 years earlier by
Aristotle

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 According to epigenesis, the form of an
animal emerges gradually from a relatively
formless egg
 With the improvement of microscopy, during

the 19th century


 Biologists could see that embryos took shape in
a series of progressive steps

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AFTER 1827
 Karl Ernst von Baer and Heinz Christian
Pander
 Proposed the germ layer theory of development
 Von Baer discovered the mammalian ovum in
1827
 Modern embryological pioneers

include Charles Darwin, Ernst Haeckel, J.B.S.


Haldane, and Joseph Needham
 Other important contributors include William

Harvey, Kaspar Friedrich Wolff, Heinz


Christian Pander, August Weismann, Gavin
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de Beer, Ernest Everett Just, and Edward B.
Lewis
AFTER 1950
 With the DNA helical structure being
unravelled
 Developmental biology emerged as a field of
study
 Which attempts to correlate the genes with
morphological change
 And tries to determine which genes are
responsible for each morphological change that
takes place in an embryo
 And how these genes are regulated

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VERTEBRATE AND INVERTEBRATE EMBRYOLOGY
 Many principles of embryology apply to
invertebrates as well as to vertebrates
 Therefore, the study of invertebrate

embryology has advanced the study of


vertebrate embryology
 However, there are many differences as well
 Numerous invertebrate species release
a larva before development is complete
 At the end of the larval period, an animal for the
first time comes to resemble an adult similar to
its parent or parents
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EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF
ANIMALS
 In humans, the term embryo refers to the
ball of dividing cells
 From the moment the zygote implants itself in
the uterus wall
 Until the end of the eighth week after conception
 Beyond the eighth week after conception, the
developing human is then called a fetus
 Tenth week of pregnancy

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MODERN EMBRYOLOGY RESEARCH
 Currently, embryology has become an
important research area for studying
 The genetic control of the development process
 Morphogens
 Its link to cell signalling

 The study of certain diseases and mutations

 Stem cell research

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