Development Links

This unit does not rely on your textbook for the assigned reading. It will be supplied to you when we begin the unit.

Development Expectations

By the end of the chapter you should have the following completed:

1.     Be able to define and give an example when appropriate of:

Group A:  Development, differentiation, cleavage, morula, blastula, trophoblast, endometrium, implantation, chorion, placenta, human chorionic gonadotropin, amniotic cavity, 

Group B:  gastrula, endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm, gastrulation, regulatory molecules, induction stimulus, embryo, neural tube, spina bifida, chorionic villi, , umbilical cord, amnion, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, fetus

2.     All sections of the reading should be read with the goal of being able to discuss/explain the information contained in them.  Note: the reading for this unit is not in your text but will be supplied to you when we begin this unit.

3.     Have the following concept review questions completely answered:

Group 1 Development in animals and implantation

1. What are the three basic activities of development the embryo must do to become a fully functioning individual? 

2. Arrange the following stages in chronological order beginning with the earliest:  gastrula, morula, zygote, blastula, embryo, fetus

3. If growth is defined as an increase in the size and number of cells, explain why there is no real growth in the developing organism through the blastula stage.

4. Explain the difference between a gastrula and a blastula.

5. Name the three germ layers of the gastrula and give 3 structures in your body that have come from each layer.

Group 2 The early embryo

1. What cell layers contribute to the formation of the eye?

2. How do regulatory molecules found in the zygote cytoplasm influence differentiation?

3. Suppose you take the regulatory molecules that control the production of fingers in humans and inject them into an oak tree.  Will the oak tree develop fingers?  Explain.

4. How does the neural tube form?

5. What structures arise from the neural tube?

Group 3 The need for water

1. Explain the relationship between the amnion, chorion, the umbilical cord and the placenta.

2. What is the one substance necessary for the development of all animal embryos?

3. Explain how substances pass from the mother to the embryo in mammals?

4. Does the placenta act as a filter to keep harmful substances from the fetus?  Give two examples to support your answer.

5. Compare and contrast amniocentesis and CVS.

4.     Labs to be handed in with discussion questions written out and answered in complete sentences:

Fetal Development Timeline            Birth Defects scavenger hunt

5.     Know how to convert from one unit to another in the metric system using factor label method.

6.     Be able to name structures that arise from the endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm

7.     Be able to put major events in fetal development in order of occurrence.

8.     Be able to identify causes and symptoms of various birth defects.

9.     Record all material presented in class notes and commit them to memory.

Extra Credit: To be eligible for extra credit you must complete all assignments for the chapter on time.  Your report needs to be passed in before the test is taken  (maximum 3 pts on test)

Chose a body system (digestive, integumentary, urinary, etc.)  Research the fetal development of your chosen body system.  Prepare a visual display that traces the development of the system.  Include labels and captioned summaries of the changes that occur at different stages.

Developmental Links                                                                                                            Top

Bill Wasserman's Developmental Biology Page

    Movies and pictures of cell cleavage, fertilization, and other stages of development.  

Chickscope

    Learn what happens in that egg between the time the chicken lays it and it hatches.

PBS Odyssey of Life: Morphing Embryos

   Video clips of the development of Human, Chicken, Pig, and Fish embryos.  Cool site.

Basic Embryology Review

   University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine website with cool movies of human development.

Embryo Images

   Normal and abnormal mammalian embryo images.

Pregnancy:  Week by week

   Information on what the embryo/fetus up to during each week of pregnancy.  Lots of pictures as well.  Remember the ages are calculated as postmenstral cycle dates.  The embryos are listed 2 weeks older than they actually are.  For example if you want to see what the embryo looks like during the first week of development, you actually have to look at week three.

The Miracle of Life

   Information and images of embryos.

Developmental Biology Online
    Comprehensive site with resources and information about animal embryology.

Frog Embryology
    Learn about frog embryonic development.

Digital Atlas of Mouse Development
    This site contains digitized pictures, images, and movie sequences of mouse embryos.

The Visible Embryo

    A comprehensive resource of information on human development from conception to birth, designed for both medical student and interested lay people.  The Visible Embryo offers a detailed pictorial account of normal and abnormal development.  The blue part of the spiral is not in weeks but stages.  Make sure you get the right age in weeks and not a stage.

March of Dimes

    Leading charity devoted to the eradication of birth defects.  Health library contains terrific links for developmental and genetic disorders.

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