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The normal period of gestation (pregnancy) is about nine months or 36 weeks. The germinal stage refers to the time from fertilization through the development of the early embryo until implantation is completed in the uterus. The germinal stage takes around 10 days. [1] During this stage, the zygote divides in a process called cleavage.
However, the actual duration between last menstruation and fertilization may in fact differ from the standard 2 weeks by several days. Thus, the first week of embryonic age is already week three counting with gestational age. Furthermore, the number of the week is one more than the actual age of the embryo/fetus.
The embryo, meanwhile, proliferates and develops both into embryonic and extra-embryonic tissue, the latter forming the fetal membranes and the placenta. In humans, the embryo is referred to as a fetus in the later stages of prenatal development. The transition from embryo to fetus is arbitrarily defined as occurring 8 weeks after fertilization.
The development of the human embryo follows fertilization, and continues as fetal development. By the end of the tenth week of gestational age, the embryo has acquired its basic form and is referred to as a fetus. The next period is that of fetal development where many organs become fully developed.
As the zygote divides, it first becomes the embryo (which means 'growing within'), typically between zero and eight weeks, then from the eighth week until birth, it is considered the fetus (which means 'unborn offspring'). The internal genitalia are all the accessory glands and ducts that connect the gonads to the outside environment.
During sexual intercourse, sperm cells are ejaculated into the vagina through the penis, resulting in fertilization of an ovum to form a zygote. [1] While normal cells contain 46 chromosomes (23 pairs), gamete cells contain only half that number, and it is when these two cells merge into one combined zygote cell that genetic recombination occurs.
In regard to 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 (tenth week of pregnancy), the developing human is then called a fetus.
A human fetus, attached to placenta, at three months gestational age. In humans, the fetal stage starts nine weeks after fertilization. [7] At this time the fetus is typically about 30 millimetres (1 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) in length from crown to rump, and weighs about 8 grams. [7] The head makes up nearly half of the size of the fetus. [8]