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    Human Development, Third Edition
    Human Development, Third Edition
    Human Development, Third Edition
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    Human Development, Third Edition

    By Ted Zerucha

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    Praise for the previous edition: 

    "...well-developed...clear and detailed...useful at the secondary level in health and anatomy classes and for research...Recommended."—Library Media Connection

    Each step in a human's development—from the creation of the brain and heart to the formation of the fingers and toes—is carefully regulated. During the approximately 264 days from fertilization to birth, a single cell gives rise to many cells, which take on specialized characteristics, and the group of cells that is the maturing human will take on form and pattern. Human Development, Third Edition examines the significant, well-understood events that take place during this intricate process. This fascinating title also discusses how the study of model organisms has aided our understanding of a human's creation and what happens when something is altered during the normal course of events. Packed with full-color photographs and illustrations, this absorbing book provides students with sufficient background information through references, websites, and a bibliography.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChelsea House
    Release dateOct 1, 2021
    ISBN9781646937172
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      Book preview

      Human Development, Third Edition - Ted Zerucha

      title

      ]>

      Human Development, Third Edition

      Copyright © 2021 by Infobase

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:

      Chelsea House

      An imprint of Infobase

      132 West 31st Street

      New York NY 10001

      ISBN 978-1-64693-717-2

      You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web

      at http://www.infobase.com

      ]>

      Contents

      Chapters

      What Is Development?

      Development as a Process

      The Cell: The Starting Point of Development

      The First Steps to Multicellularity

      The Developing Embryo

      Development of the Central Nervous System

      Establishing the Axes

      Limb Development

      The Delicate Embryo

      Support Materials

      Glossary

      Bibliography

      Further Resources

      About the Author

      Index

      ]>

      Chapters

      ]>

      What Is Development?

      Development is the process by which a single cell becomes a multicellular organism. In humans, this process takes approximately 264 days, or 9 months. During that time, cells divide many times to produce the approximately 37.2 trillion cells found in the adult human body.¹ This collection of cells undergoes a vast number of events at the molecular and cellular levels to produce a complete human body. As a result of a process called differentiation, the cells become specialized. For example, some become nerve cells, some become muscle cells, while some others become skin cells. As this collection of cells takes form, they position themselves to reflect their eventual roles in the body. Cells that are destined to become muscle and intestine position themselves inside the embryo, while cells that are destined to become skin position themselves on the outside of the embryo. Axes are established that define the front and back, left and right, and top and bottom of the developing embryo. The organ systems of the body form, and throughout this process, the embryo and then the fetus continue to grow.

      Development begins with fertilization, the fusion of a sperm cell with an egg cell to produce a genetically unique single cell that ultimately gives rise to every cell in the body. Human development can be divided into three distinct stages: preembryonic, embryonic, and fetal. The first two weeks of development are known as the preembryonic stage. This stage follows fertilization but precedes the implantation of the embryo into the wall of the mother's uterus. The time from the beginning of week three to the end of week eight is the embryonic stage (see figure below). During this time, the embryo undergoes many events that transform it from a mass of cells to human form. From the end of the eighth week until birth, the developing human is called a fetus. The fetal stage consists mostly of growth as the inch-long but distinctly human-appearing fetus develops and matures in preparation for birth.

      This image shows some stages of human embryonic development. The first two weeks (not shown) are the preembryonic stage; weeks three through eight are the embryonic stage; and from eight weeks (56 days) on is the fetal stage.

      Source: Infobase Learning.

      In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in the field of developmental biology. The field has evolved from observing the outward physical form of a developing embryo to understanding the mechanisms driving the process. Advances in cell and molecular biology have provided insights into these mechanisms of developmental events that previously could only have been observed in wonder. These outward changes involve a complex array of molecular reaction pathways and cellular processes that must occur at the correct place, in the correct order, and at the proper time for the embryo to develop normally.

      The general organization of this text mirrors the order of the developmental events that will be discussed, beginning with the earliest events and highlighting those that take place as the embryo develops human form. The full complexity of the processes and stages of development are beyond the scope of this text; however, the material that is covered should serve as an introduction and overview of some of the more significant and well-understood events.

      1. Bianconi, E., et al. An Estimation of the Number Cells in the Human Body, Annals of Human Biology 40, no. 6 (2013): 463-471. Available online. URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23829164/. Accessed August 16, 2021. 

      ]>

      Development as a Process

      Development begins with fertilization, which produces a genetically unique single cell called a zygote, which is the first cell of the new individual. The zygote gives rise to many cells via repeated cell divisions. The cellular and molecular events that shape this collection of cells into the form of a human represent a complex array of pathways and processes that must interact in very specific ways. Because these pathways and processes are made up of combinations of events, often dependent on one another, their disruption can potentially result in a series of mistakes that can affect the development of the embryo as a whole.

      During the eighteenth century scientists, philosophers, and theologians all agreed that human development involved preformation. According to this theory, individuals developed from fully formed, but extremely small, versions of themselves that were present in the sperm or eggs, known as the gametes.¹ According to preformationists, every person now existing has existed since the beginning of the human race. Thus people

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