4 TO 8 WEEK OF

TH TH

DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Shahab Hanif
Anatomy Department
Main Events
• Folding of Embryo
• Derivatives of Germ Layers
• Somites Development
Folding Of Embryo
• Folding in the head and tail region produces Head and Tail Folds
respectively.
• Head Fold
• Developing forebrain grows cranially beyond oropharyngeal membrane and
overhangs developing heart.

• At the same time, the septum transversum, primordial heart, pericardial

coelom, and oropharyngeal membrane move onto the ventral surface of the
embryo
Head Fold cont.
• During folding, part of the endoderm of the umbilical vesicle is
incorporated into the embryo as the foregut.

• Septum transversum now lies caudal to heart

Tail Fold
• Occurs due to growth of distal neural tube
• Tail region projects over the cloacal membrane
• During folding, part of endodermal germ layer is incorporated into
embryo as hindgut, whose terminal part becomes dilated to form
cloaca
• Before folding, primitive streak lie cranial to cloacal membrane, after
folding, primitive streak lies caudal to cloacal membrane
Tail Fold cont.
• Connecting stalk (primordium of umbilical cord) attaches to ventral
surface of embryo

• Allantois (diverticulum of umbilical vesicle) is partially incorporated

into embryo.
Folding in Horizontal Plane
• Right and Left lateral Folds are produced.
• Lateral folding occurs due to rapid growth of spinal cord and somites.
• Folding results in formation of abdominal wall
• Part of endoderm is incorporated in embryo as Midgut.
• Wide initial connection between midgut and umbilical vesicle is
narrowed after folding to produce omphaloenteric duct
Somites
• Toward the end of the 3rd week, paraxial mesoderm differentiates,
and begins to divide into paired cuboidal bodies, the somites which
form in a craniocaudal sequence on each side of neural tube

• About 38 pairs of somites are formed from 20 to 30days of human

development.

• 42 -44 pairs of somites are present by end of 5th week

• First appear in occipital region.

• 4 occipital, 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumber, 5 sacral and 8 – 10

coccygeal

• The 1st occipital and last five to seven coccygeal somites disappear,
while remaining form axial, muscles and dermis

• Used to determine the embryos age.

Somite Differentiation
• Exist as a ball of mesoderm
• Cells undergo epithelization and arranged in donut shape with central
lumen.
• Cells of ventro medial walls of somites lose epithelial characteristic
and become mesenchymal to surround neural tube and notochord,
• These cells form Sclerotome which forms ribs and vertebrae
• The remaing portion of somites become dermomyotome
• Cells at the dorsomedial and ventrolateral edges of the upper region
of the Dermomyotome form precursors for muscle cells (myotome),
while cells between these two groups form the dermatome.
Crown Rump Length
• CRL is the measurement from the vertex of the skull to the midpoint
between the apices of the buttocks.
Crown Heel Length
• Measurement of height of the fetus from vertex to the heel