Good day everyone. It’s good to be back here again. I’m sure you remember we started a series on Foetal Development the last time. We examined the Germinal Stage of Foetal Development. Today we are going to take it a notch higher. We’ll be taking a look at the Embryonic Stage.
The embryonic stage lasts from about the third week of pregnancy until the eighth week. This stage is when the blastocyst begins to take on distinct human characteristics. I know you still remember a blastocyst is a ball of cells that forms early in a pregnancy, about five to six days after a sperm fertilizes an egg. At the Embryonic Stage, the blastocyst transforms into an embryo. Yea, embryonic is from the word embryo; interesting, right? This is also the stage where structures and organs like the neural tube (which later becomes the brain and spinal cord), head, eyes, mouth, and limbs form. The embryo’s heart begins to develop and pulse around the sixth week.
Buds that will become arms and legs also form around the sixth week.
Most of the embryo’s organs and systems take shape by the end of the eighth week. For many, this is the point in pregnancy where morning sickness begins.
That’s it on the Embryonic Stage of Foetal Development. I Will be back next week to discuss the final stage, the Feoetal Stage. Till then, stay healthy. Bye for now.
