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The time table of human development, taken from a standard human embryology text
(often used in medical school anatomy classes), Langman, Medical Embryology,
Williams and Wilkins Press:
While some of this is technical, there is still information of value here.
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*day 2 two cell stage (30 hours), 4 cell stage (40 hours)- if a cell falls off the
cluster, it can develop into another embryo plus placenta, i.e, identical twin)
This image was borrowed without permission
from the Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago
who specialize in in-vitro fertilization for those
who are having difficulty conceiving
*day 4 early blastocyst (ball of cell forms a small central cavity - cells are now
committed to becoming either placental cells or embryo cells, though they can't be
recognized as such)
*day 6-7 implantation starts. Group of cells at one pole of the cyst lining is now
recognizable as the embryonic precursor tissue.
*days 8-12 conceptus gradually covered by maternal tissue, maternal placenta bed
vessels expand, placental primitive vessels start to form
*day 14 embryonic disc forms "primitive streak," from which a third layer of
embryonic cells emerge
*day 19 top layer of disc (ectoderm) forms a central flat strip (neural plate) that
is the nervous system precursor
*day 20 middle layer of disc (mesoderm) starts partitioning into segments called
somites, which will later become ribs, muscles, etc.
*days 20-23 neural plate rolls into a tube and sinks below the surface of the
ectoderm. This tube will form the spinal cord and brain eventually.
*** By the end of the 8th week, all major organs have their basic forms. The rest
of development is required to make the organs functional. Most major anatomic birth
defects are caused by damage during the 3rd to 8th week of gestation.
This is why it is so important, when using herbs to terminate pregnancy, if they
should fail, to follow up with a clinical abortion. As you can see, in the first
few weeks of pregnancy are vital to the survival of the developing child, if any of
these processes are disrupted, as by herbs or other substances, the risk of birth
defects is pronounced, from these few cells comes all the groundwork for the future
person, the foundation for the major organs, brain and spinal column are laid at
this time.