LBYBIO4
the entire gastrula. These cells will form the
Cleavage to Neurulation
 Frog egg – mesolecithal that undergoes
holoblastic cleavage.
 Fertilization – the sperm enters the egg at the
animal hemisphere, triggering cortical
rotation toward the site of sperm entry.
 Gray crescent
- Area of reduced pigmentation.
- Future dorsal side of the animal.
 Animal pole – future anterior.
 Vegetal pole – future posterior.
 Cortical shift 0 shifting of determinant
molecules in the cytoplasm.
Cleavage Division
 First Cleavage – bisect the gray crescent.
 Second Cleavage – perpendicular to the first.
 Third Cleavage – horizontal and perpendicular
to the first two.
 Cleavage planes tend to move toward the
animal pole.
 Macromeres – found in the vegetal pole and
larger because the yolk tends to impede
cleavage.
 Micromeres – found in the animal pole
 Blastula – 2,500 cells.
 Blastocoel – inner cavity of blastula filled with
fluid.
 Gray crescent – lighter pigmentation and
thinner wall.
Gastrulation
- Marked by extensive cellular migration and
continued mitotic proliferation.
 Blastopore – opening formed by cells just
below the gray crescent sunk into the
embryo. (anus in the future)
 Dorsal lip – a lip like structure above the
blastopore.
 Involution – cells move inward.
 Ventral lip
 Lateral lip
 Yolk plug – material in between the lips from
the vegetal cells; internalized.
 Archenteron (gastrocoele) – result of cell
migration. (future gut)
 Blastocoel – obliterated.
 Cells of vegetal pole – line the archenteron
and five rise to the endoderm.
 Epiloby – process where the outer cells cover
ectoderm.
 Mesoderm – cells that migrated inward and
are above the vegetal cells but below the
surface cells.
Neurulation
 Fate of ectoderm
o Neural
o Epidermal
 Dorsal axis – where the neural tube forms.
 Mesoderm – induce the ectoderm to become
neural. Ectoderm in response will thicken to
form the neural plate.
 Notochord – rounded structure below the
neural plate. Mesodermal derivative. It
provides axial stability to the embryo and has
important induction functions for the somites
and the neural tube. Most will degenerate
except for the nucleus pulposus.
 Nucleus pulposus – form the inner core of the
vertebral discs.
 Segmental plate mesoderm – lateral to
notochord which will give rise to the somites.
 Somites – form the axial skeleton (ribs,
vertebrae), skeletal muscle, and dermis of the
dorsal body surface.
 Lateral plate mesoderm – more
distal/lateral/posterior to the segmental
plate. Will split into:
o Outer somatic mesoderm
o Inner splanchnic mesoderm
o Coelom – between them.
 Intermediate plate mesoderm – between the
segmental and lateral plates. Will give rise to
the kidneys and gonads.
Neural Groove and Neural Tube stages
- Arise from the rising up of the edges of the
neural plate.
- Skin ectoderm grows over them so that the
neural tube becomes internalized.
 Neural tube – formed by the fusion of the
neural folds.
 Anencephaly and spina bifida – congenital
abnormalities resulting from failure of closure
of neural folds.
 Neural crest cells – mesenchymal; will form
the autonomic nervous system, melanocytes,
adrenal medulla, etc.
4MM
Nervous System
 Forebrain (prosencephalon)
o Telencephalon
o Diencephalon
 Pineal body (epiphysis) – borders on the
dorsal surface between the two divisions of
forebrain.
 Optic chiasma – borders on the ventral
surface between the two divisions of
forebrain.
 Nasal (nose) placodes – indicate the level of
the telencephalon.
 Diencephalon – level of the brain at the optics
(eyes).
 Optics
o Sensory retina (thick lateral)
o Pigmented retina (thin medial
o Corneal epithelium
o Lens placode
 Infundibulum – formed by the splitting of
diencephalon. (lower and ventral)
 Border between the diencephalon and the
midbrain or mesencephalon
o Neuromere
o Narrowing of the nerve tube dorsally
o Tip of the notochord ventrally
 Tuberculum posterius – a groove just
posterior to the infundibulum.
 Notochord – landmark for the posterior end
of the infundibulum.
 As the notochord becomes visible, the
infundibulum vanishes.
 Midbrain is always dorsal, above the
diencephalon.
 Hindbrain (rhombencephalon) – separated
from mesencephalon by a neuromere.
o Metencephalon – more anterior part.
Very short region.
o Myelencephalon – landmarked by otic
vesicle (auditory).
 Mesencephalon – thick roof.
 Rhombencephalon – thin roof.
 Myelencephalon to Spinal cord
 Spinal cord – thin floor and thin roof but thick
wall and is smaller than the myelencephalon.
 Neural crest cells – loose mesenchymal cells
above the spinal cord.
Digestive System
 Foregut
- Most anterior region.
o Oral evagination
o Pharynx
o Duodenum
o Liver diverticulum
 Liver diverticulum – a deep ventral
evagination of the posterior gut.
 Stomodeum – external indentation, bordering
the oral plate.
 Future mouth: stomodeum + oral plate
 Midgut – at the posterior part of the liver
diverticulum. It continues in its dorsal
location.
 Hindgut – starts when midgut dips ventrally
and enlarges. It ends in the cloacal
membrane.
 Proctodeum – borders the cloacal membrane
as an ectodermal invagination.
 Anal opening: proctodeum + cloacal
membrane.
Somites
 Mesodermal derivatives
o Dorsal mesoderm – notochord
o Paraxial somites – epimere
o Mesomere or intermediate mesoderm
– containing kidney tubules
o Hypomere or lateral plate mesoderm
 Notochord – appears when infundibulum
disappears. It is always ventral to the CNS. It
will be incorporated into the vertebral disks
as the nucleus pulposus.
 3 regions of somites
o outermost dermatome
o middle myotome
o innermost sclerotome
 Dermatome – give rise to dorsal dermis.
 Myotome – give rise to skeletal muscle.
 Sclerotome – give rise to axial skeleton.
Pronephros
- About the level of the midgut
 Pronephric tubules – filters the blood.
 Pronephric duct – collects and carries away
the filtrate to the hindgut.
 Glomus – looks like an extension (cluster of
grapes) into the coelom from the dorsal
aorta.
 Nephrostome – an opening from the coelom
into the nephric tubules. (cilia lining this is
darkly stained)
 Pronephros – functioning embryonic kidney
of the frog embryo.
 Lateral plate mesoderm – ventral to
mesomere lying between the ectoderm and
endoderm.
 Coelom – separates into
o Somatic mesoderm (next to ectoderm)
o Splanchnic mesoderm (next to
endoderm)

Heart
- Arises from the anterior splanchnic
mesoderm.
 Conus or bulbus cordis – ventral to the
pharynx; most anterior part of the heart.
 Ventricle – more posterior; ventral and
curved.
 Endocardium – innermost layer.
 Myocardium – middle thick.
 Parietal Pericardium – outermost. This is from
somatic mesoderm.
 Dorsal mesocardium – a thin strip of tissue
that suspends heart dorsally.
 Sinus venosus – most dorsal and posterior.
Into which the common cardinal veins empty,
 Atrium – more anterior.
 Conus arteriosus – anterior from with these
arises:
o Ventral aorta
o Aortic arches