LECTURE 5

Development
Fertilization
• Sexual reproduction
• Union of male and female gametes
• Sperm receptors on the surface of the egg cell
• Acrozyme on the sperm for entrance into the egg cell 
produce a fertilization cone
• Almost instant barrier formed as a sperm enters the egg
(fertilization membrane)
• Fast block (electrical barrier)
• Slow block (chemical or cortical barrier via water
envelope)
Zygote and Embryo Formation
• Zygote  Morula  Blastula  Gastrula  Neurula 
Embryo
• Cleavage and formation of germ layers
• Ectoderm
• Mesoderm
• Endoderm
Ectoderm
• Outer epithelium of body and derivatives
• Hair, nails, epithelial glands, lining of mouth, enamel of teeth, lens
of eyes, inner ear, nasal and olfactory epithelium
• Neural tube
• Brain, spinal cord, motor nerves
• Neural crest
• Sensory ganglia and nerves, adrenal medulla, sympathetic ganglia,
skull, gill arches, dentine of teeth
Mesoderm
• Notochord  vertebrae
• Lining of thoracic and abdominal cavities
• Circulatory system
• Blood, bone marrow, endothelium, lymphatics
• Somites
• skeleton and muscle, dermis, connective tissue
• Urogenital system
• Smooth muscle and connective tissue of digestive tract
Endoderm
• Epithelium of respiratory tract
• Pharynx
• Epithelium of gut
• Liver, pancreas
• Inner lining of urinary bladder
• Gut tube
• Mechanisms of Development
• Cytoplasmic specification (pre-determined)
• Conditional specification (specific development through
interactions with the surrounding cells/environment or its
position in the developing embryo)
• Primary organizer