Welcome to The Visible Embryo

Home- - -History-- -Bibliography- -Pregnancy Timeline- --Prescription Drugs in Pregnancy- -- Pregnancy Calculator- --Female Reproductive System- News Alerts -Contact


Welcome to The Visible Embryo, a comprehensive educational resource on human development from conception to birth.

The Visible Embryo provides visual references for changes in fetal development throughout pregnancy and can be navigated via fetal development or maternal changes.

The National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development awarded Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovative Research Grants to develop The Visible Embryo in 1993 as a first generation internet teaching tool consolidating human embryology teaching for first year medical students.

Today, The Visible Embryo is linked to over 600 educational institutions and is viewed by more than 1 million visitors each month. The field of early embryology has grown to include the identification of the stem cell as not only critical to organogenesis in the embryo, but equally critical to organ function and repair in the adult human.

The identification and understanding of genetic malfunction, inflammatory responses, and the progression in chronic disease, begins with a grounding in primary cellular and systemic functions manifested in the study of the early embryo.

WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform
The World Health Organization (WHO) has created a new Web site to help researchers, doctors and patients obtain reliable information on high-quality clinical trials. Now you can go to one website and search all registers to identify clinical trial research underway around the world!
Home
History
Bibliography
Pregnancy Timeline
Prescription Drug Effects on Pregnancy
Pregnancy Calculator
Female Reproductive System
Contact The Visible Embryo
News Archive
Disclaimer: The Visible Embryo web site is provided for your general information only. The information contained on this site should not be treated as a substitute for medical, legal or other professional advice. Neither is The Visible Embryo responsible or liable for the contents of any websites of third parties which are listed on this site.
Content protected under a Creative Commons License.

No dirivative works may be made or used for commercial purposes.

Return To Top Of Page
Pregnancy Timeline by SemestersFemale Reproductive SystemFertilizationThe Appearance of SomitesFirst TrimesterSecond TrimesterThird TrimesterFetal liver is producing blood cellsHead may position into pelvisBrain convolutions beginFull TermWhite fat begins to be madeWhite fat begins to be madeHead may position into pelvisImmune system beginningImmune system beginningPeriod of rapid brain growthBrain convolutions beginLungs begin to produce surfactantSensory brain waves begin to activateSensory brain waves begin to activateInner Ear Bones HardenBone marrow starts making blood cellsBone marrow starts making blood cellsBrown fat surrounds lymphatic systemFetal sexual organs visibleFinger and toe prints appearFinger and toe prints appearHeartbeat can be detectedHeartbeat can be detectedBasic Brain Structure in PlaceThe Appearance of SomitesFirst Detectable Brain WavesA Four Chambered HeartBeginning Cerebral HemispheresEnd of Embryonic PeriodEnd of Embryonic PeriodFirst Thin Layer of Skin AppearsThird TrimesterDevelopmental Timeline
Click weeks 0 - 40 and follow fetal growth
Search artcles published since 2007

March 12, 2013--------News Archive Return to: News Alerts

Experiments inactivating the genes Celsr3 and Fzd3 in developing animals, resulted
in disorganization of neurons, slower gut transit time and abnormal colon motility.










WHO Child Growth Charts

       

Fully wired: Planar cell genes guide gut neurons

The enteric nervous system (ENS), the "little brain" that resides within the gut wall, governs motility, secretion, and blood flow in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Failure of the ENS to develop normally leads to congenital
megacolon (Hirschsprung Disease), while loss of normal
gut innervation is thought to contribute to debilitating
motility disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

In order to prevent and treat these conditions, it is necessary to understand the molecular mechanisms that control the formation and function of the ENS.

The work appears in the March 8, 2013 issue of the Journal of Clinial Investigation.

Vassilis Pachnis and colleagues at the MRC National Institute
for Medical Research in London, write that the planar cell
polarity (PCP) genes, Celsr3 and Fzd3 are required
for the formation of the complex neural networks
within the guts of mice.

Experiments inactivating these genes resulted in
disorganization of neuronal projections, slower gut transit
time and abnormal colonic motility, indicating for the first
time that improper ENS wiring contributes to
gastrointestinal motility disorders.

Future studies will be required to determine if mutations or dysfunction of these genes contributes to human gut motility disorders.

Original article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/joci-fwp030113.php