Flashcards: Developmental biology

A germ layer is a primary layer of cells that form during embryogenesis.

The amniotic fluid, commonly called a pregnant woman's water or waters (Latin liquor amnii), is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a pregnant female.

In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer layer or covering), either at specific times of the year, or at specific points in its life cycle.

Birth, also known as parturition, is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring.

Sexual reproduction is a form of reproduction where two morphologically distinct types of specialized reproductive cells called gametes fuse together, involving a female's large ovum (or egg) and a male's smaller sperm.

Evolutionary developmental biology (informally, evo-devo) is a field of biology that compares the developmental processes of different organisms to determine the ancestral relationship between them, and to discover how developmental processes evolved.

A zygote (from Greek ζυγωτός zygōtos "joined" or "yoked", from ζυγοῦν zygoun "to join" or "to yoke"), is a eukaryotic cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes.

Menarche (/mᵻˈnɑːrkiː/ mə-NAR-kee; Greek: μήν mēn "month" + ἀρχή arkhē "beginning") is the first menstrual cycle, or first menstrual bleeding, in female humans.

Bone resorption is resorption of bone tissue, that is, the process by which osteoclasts break down the tissue in bones and release the minerals, resulting in a transfer of calcium from bone tissue to the blood.

In early embryogenesis of most eutherian mammals, the inner cell mass (abbreviated ICM and also known as the embryoblast in mammals or pluriblast) is the mass of cells inside the primordial embryo that, once fertilized, will eventually give rise to the definitive structures of the fetus.

In developmental biology, photomorphogenesis is light-mediated development, where plant growth patterns respond to the light spectrum.

Drosophila embryogenesis, the process by which Drosophila (fruit fly) embryos form, is a favorite model system for genetics and developmental biology.

In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process where a cell changes from one cell type to another.

Ectoderm is one of the three primary germ layers in the very early embryo.

Gametogenesis is a biological process by which diploid or haploid precursor cells undergo cell division and differentiation to form mature haploid gametes.

In biology, mating (or mateing in British English) is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms, usually for the purposes of sexual reproduction.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), also known by , is a protein that in humans is encoded by the AMH gene.

The placenta (also known as afterbirth) is an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, provide thermo-regulation to the fetus, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply, fight against internal infection and produce hormones to support pregnancy.

Spermatogenesis is the process in which spermatozoa are produced from spermatogonial stem cells by way of mitosis and meiosis.

Morphogenesis (from the Greek morphê shape and genesis creation, literally, "beginning of the shape") is the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape.

A morula (Latin, morus: mulberry) is an early stage embryo consisting of cells (called blastomeres) in a solid ball contained within the zona pellucida.

A homeobox is a DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, found within genes that are involved in the regulation of patterns of anatomical development (morphogenesis) in animals, fungi and plants.

The hindbrain or rhombencephalon is a developmental categorization of portions of the central nervous system in vertebrates.

Endoderm is one of the three primary germ layers in the very early human embryo.

An embryo is an early stage of development of a multicellular diploid eukaryotic organism.

A blastocoel is a fluid-filled cavity that forms in the animal hemisphere of early amphibian and echinoderm embryos, or between the epiblast and hypoblast of avian, reptilian, and mammalian blastoderm-stage embryos.

The blastula (from Greek βλαστός (blastos), meaning "sprout") is a hollow sphere of cells, referred to as blastomeres, surrounding an inner fluid-filled cavity called the blastocoele formed during an early stage of embryonic development in animals.

Oogenesis, ovogenesis, or oögenesis /ˌoʊ.

In the anatomy of the brain of vertebrates, the forebrain or prosencephalon is the rostral-most (forward-most) portion of the brain.

The BTO (BRENDA Tissue Ontology) represents a comprehensive structured encyclopedia.

The laryngotracheal groove is a precursor for the larynx and trachea.

In human development, the cotyledons are the approximately 15-25 separations of the decidua basalis of the placenta, separated by placental septa.

Repulsive Guidance Molecules (RGMs) are members of a three gene family (in vertebrates) composed of RGMa, RGMb, and RGMc (also called hemojuvelin).

The respiratory bud is an embryological structure of endodermal origin that develops into organs of the respiratory system, such as the larynx, trachea and lungs.

Symsagittifera roscoffensis, formerly called Convoluta roscoffensis, is a free-living acoelomorph worm.

Pigeon toe (also known as metatarsus varus, metatarsus adductus, in-toe gait, intoeing or false clubfoot) is a condition which causes the toes to point inward when walking.

Through studies of human embryos performed in the late 1890s, Swiss anatomist Wilhelm His identified a portion of hindbrain neuroepithelium that was distinct from the rest of the hindbrain neuroepithelium in its morphology, sustained chromosomal division into late stages of embryogenesis, and deployment of streams of neurons through the hindbrain periphery.

The study of neural development in humans draws on both neuroscience and developmental biology to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which complex nervous systems emerge during embryonic development and throughout life.

The testes, at an early period of fetal life, are placed at the back part of the abdominal cavity, behind the peritoneum, and each is attached by a peritoneal fold, the mesorchium, to the mesonephros.

A body cavity is any fluid-filled space in a multicellular organism other than those of vessels (such as blood vessels and lymph vessels).

Oikopleura dioica is a species of small pelagic tunicate found in the surface waters of most of the world's oceans.

The amniotic sac, commonly called the bag of waters, sometimes the membranes, is the sac in which the fetus develops in amniotes.

Cord Blood Registry is a biotechnology company headquartered in San Bruno, California, founded in 1992 by father and daughter Tom Moore and Wendy Grant.

Evolution & Development is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing material at the interface of evolutionary and developmental biology.

Xenbase is a Model Organism Database (MOD), providing informatics resources, as well as genomic and biological data on Xenopus frogs.

An immature ovum is a cell that goes through the process of oogenesis to become an ovum.

Neoteny in humans is the slowing or delaying of body development, compared to non-human primates, resulting in features such as a large head, a flat face, and relatively short arms and legs.

Foetal cerebral redistribution or 'brain-sparing' is a diagnosis in foetal medicine.

Premature thelarche is a rare medical condition that is characterized by isolated breast development (thelarche being the onset of breast development) at a very early age with no other signs of sexual maturation.

Trabecular cartilages (trabeculae cranii, sometimes simply trabeculae) are paired, rod-shaped cartilages, which develop in the head of the vertebrate embryo.

Segmentation in biology refers to the division of some animal and plant body plans into a series of repetitive segments.

The metencephalon is the embryonic part of the hindbrain that differentiates into the pons and the cerebellum.

The primitive knot (or primitive node) is the organizer for gastrulation in vertebrates.

A stigma in mammalian reproductive anatomy refers to the area of the ovarian surface where the Graafian follicle will burst through during ovulation and release the ovum.

A pharyngeal groove (or branchial groove, or pharyngeal cleft) is made up of ectoderm unlike its counterpart the pharyngeal pouch on the endodermal side.

Limb development in tetrapods — animals with four limbs — is an area of active research in developmental biology.

The nasal placode (or olfactory placode) gives rise to the olfactory epithelium of the nose.

Trophoblasts (from Greek trephein: to feed, and blastos: germinator) are cells forming the outer layer of a blastocyst, which provide nutrients to the embryo and develop into a large part of the placenta.

The cortical reaction is a process initiated during fertilization by the release of cortical granules from the egg which prevents polyspermy, the fusion of multiple sperm with one egg.

Chordin is a bone morphogenetic protein antagonist composed of four small cysteine-rich domains, whose function is not known.

Endochondral ossification is one of the two essential processes during fetal development of the mammalian skeletal system by which bone tissue is created.

The study of the causes of transsexuality investigates gender identity formation of transgender people, especially those who are transsexual.

dictyBase is an online bioinformatics database for the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum.

In the embryonic development of vertebrates, pharyngeal pouches form on the endodermal side between the pharyngeal arches.

Axial mesoderm, or chordamesoderm, is a type of mesoderm that lies along the central axis under the neural tube.

The Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB) is a non-profit, global hybridoma bank.

A hair whorl is a patch of hair growing in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair.