Organogenetic period :

Fourth to Eighth Weeks

3rd week
▶The tissues and organs differentiate rapidly.

▶Exposure of embryos to teratogens may cause

major congenital anomalies.

▶Teratogens are agents such as drugs and viruses

that produce or raise the incidence of congenital
anomalies
TERATOGENS

• act by:
• producing cell death,
• altering normal growth of tissues

• The consequences can be:

• fetal loss
• fetal growth restriction,
• birth defects (eg, a limb reduction),
• impaired neurologic performance (eg, altered neural
connections in the central nervous system in fetal alcohol
syndrome).
EXAMPLES OF TERATOGENS

• Maternal illnesses (e.g., diabetes

mellitus or phenylketonuria ),

• Infectious agents (e.g., TORCH -

Toxoplasmosis, Other [syphilis,
varicella-zoster, parvovirus
B19], Rubella, Cytomegalovirus,
and Herpes - infections),

• Physical agents (e.g., radiation or

heat exposure), and
• Drugs (e.g., thalidomide,
antiepileptic drugs) and
• Chemical agents (e.g., mercury)
Folding of embryo
▶ folding of the flat trilaminar embryonic disc (3 germ layers)
into a cylindrical embryo

▶ occurs in both the median and horizontal planes and results

from rapid growth of the embryo.

▶ Folding at the cranial and caudal ends and sides of the

embryo occurs simultaneously
Folding of Embryo in Median Plane

▶Folding ventrally
produces head and tail
folds.
▶ the neural folds
thickened to form the
primordium of the brain
Head Folding
▶brain projects dorsally
into the amniotic cavity.

▶forebrain grows cranially

beyond the oropharyngeal
membrane and overhangs
the developing heart.
▶ Septum transversum,
primordial heart, pericardial
coelom, and oropharyngeal
membrane move onto the
ventral surface of the
embryo.
▶ Septum transversum lies
caudal to the heart.
▶ Central tendon of the
diaphragm.
▶ Pericardial coelom lies
ventral to the heart and
cranial to the septum
transversum.
▶Part of the endoderm of the umbilical vesicle is
incorporated into the embryo as the foregut
(primordium of pharynx, esophagus, etc.)

▶The foregut lies between the brain and heart.

▶Oropharyngeal membrane separates the foregut

from the stomodeum
Tail Fold
▶Primary from growth of the distal part of the neural
tube- Primordium of the spinal cord.
▶Part of the endoderm is incorporated as the hindgut
(primordium of descending colon).
▶After folding, the primitive streak lies caudal to the
cloacal membrane.

▶The connecting stalk (primordium of umbilical cord)

attached to the ventral surface of the embryo.
▶Allantois - a diverticulum of the umbilical vesicle - is
partially incorporated into the embryo.
Folding of Embryo in Horizontal
Plane
▶ Folding of the sides of the embryo produces right and left
lateral folds - a roughly cylindrical embryo.

▶ Lateral folding is produced by the rapidly growing spinal

cord and somites.

▶ As the abdominal walls form, part of the endoderm is

incorporated into the embryo as the midgut (primordium of
small intestine).
The fourth week Summary

▶Formation of neural tube in between the somites.

▶widely open at the rostral (cranial) and caudal (tail)

neuropores

▶Three pairs of pharyngeal arches are visible by 26

days and the rostral neuropore is closed
• Upper limb buds become recognizable by day 26 or
27 as small swellings on the ventrolateral body walls
▶The otic pits are also visible

▶lens placodes are visible on the sides of the head.

▶The fourth pair of pharyngeal arches and the lower

limb buds are visible by the end of the fourth week.

▶Toward the end of the fourth week, caudal eminence

(embryo tail) is a characteristic feature of the 4th week
▶By the end of the fourth week the caudal neuropore is
closed
Fifth week

▶Minor changes

▶Growth of the head (forebrain)

▶Second pharyngeal arch overgrows the third and

fourth arches.

▶Lateral ectodermal depression on each side – the

cervical sinus
Sixth Week

▶The upper limbs begin to show regional differentiation

as the elbows and large hand plates develop
▶digital rays, begin to develop in the hand plates.

▶– auricular hillocks - develop around the pharyngeal

groove between the first two pharyngeal arches

▶This groove becomes the external acoustic meatus

(external auditory canal) and the auricular hillocks
around it fuse to form the auricle
Seventh Week

▶The limbs undergo considerable change during the

seventh week

▶Notches appear between the digital rays in the hand

plates, clearly indicating the future digits
.
▶By the end of the seventh week, ossification of the
bones of the upper limbs has begun.
Eighth Week
▶Digits of the hand are separated.
▶Notches are clearly visible between the digital rays of
the feet.
▶Purposeful limb movements.
▶Ossification begins in the femur.
▶Caudal eminence has disappeared.
▶Both hands and feet approach each other ventrally.
▶Distinct human characteristics
▶Head is disproportionately large.
▶Neck region is established.
▶The eyelids are closing, and unite by epithelial
fusion.
▶The auricles of the external ears begin to assume
their final shape.