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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. A blastocyst is then formed and implants in the uterus.
The zygote is the earliest developmental stage. In humans and most other anisogamous organisms, a zygote is formed when an egg cell and sperm cell come together to create a new unique organism. The formation of a totipotent zygote with the potential to produce a whole organism depends on epigenetic reprogramming.
The morula develops into a structure called a blastula through a process called blastulation. The blastula develops into a structure called a gastrula through a process called gastrulation. The gastrula then undergoes further development, including the formation of organs (organogenesis). The embryo then transforms into the next stage of ...
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 resulting zygote develops into an embryo, while the triploid endosperm (one sperm cell plus two female cells) and female tissues of the ovule give rise to the surrounding tissues in the developing seed. The ovary, which produced the female gametophyte(s), then grows into a fruit, which surrounds the seed(s).
Fertilization was not understood in antiquity. Hippocrates believed that the embryo was the product of male semen and a female factor. Aristotle held that only male semen gave rise to an embryo, while the female only provided a place for the embryo to develop, [5] a concept he acquired from the preformationist Pythagoras.
The division of blastomeres from the zygote allows a single fertile cell to continue to cleave and differentiate until a blastocyst forms. The differentiation of the blastomere allows for the development of two distinct cell populations: the inner cell mass, which becomes the precursor to the embryo, and the trophectoderm, which becomes the precursor to the placenta.
The development of a zygote into a multicellular embryo proceeds through a series of recognizable stages, often divided into cleavage, blastula, gastrulation, and organogenesis. [6] Cleavage is the period of rapid mitotic cell divisions that occur after fertilization.