Mesoderm Development

Carnegie stage 9 showing somite formation

Carnegie stage 9 scanning electron microscope image showing somite formation

Introduction

We have seen the following processes during early human development so far: fertilization and blastocyst development in the first week, implantation in the second week, early placentation and bilaminar to trilaminar in the third week. In the third to fourth week we will now follow the development of the trilaminar embryo as each layer begins to differentiate into the primordia of different tissues within the embryo. From this point onward the lectures will not be in a strict timeline format as we will have to follow each layer (ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm) forward through its early development, and then jump back to discuss the next layer.

This lecture will look at mesoderm development and formation of the body cavities.

Mesoderm means the "middle layer" and it is from this layer that nearly all the bodies connective tissues are derived. In early mesoderm development a number of transient structures will form and then be lost as tissue structure is patterned and organised. Humans are vertebrates, with a "backbone", and the first mesoderm structure we will see form after the notochord will be somites.

Coelom, meaning "cavity", and major fluid-filled cavities can be seen to form both within the embryo (intraembryonic coelom) and outside the embryo (extraembryonic coelom). The intraembryonic coelom is the single primitive cavity that lies within the mesoderm layer that will eventually form the 3 major anatomical body cavities (pericardial, pleural, peritoneal).

References

Textbooks

The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology (8th Edition) by Keith L. Moore and T.V.N Persaud - Mesoderm Ch15,16: p405-423, 426-430 Body Cavities Ch9: p174-184
Larsen’s Human Embryology by GC. Schoenwolf, SB. Bleyl, PR. Brauer and PH. Francis-West - Mesoderm Ch11 p311-339 Body Cavities Ch6 p127-146

Additional Textbooks

Before We Are Born (5th ed.) Moore and Persaud Ch16,17: p379-397, 399-405
Essentials of Human Embryology Larson Ch11 p207-228
Human Embryology Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald Body Cavities Ch5 p29-32, Ch7 p47,48
Human Embryology and Developmental Biology ?Carlson Ch9,10: p173-193, 209-222 Body Cavities Ch5 p29-32, Ch7 p47,48

Online Textbooks

Developmental Biology by Gilbert, Scott F. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates, Inc.; c2000 Paraxial Mesoderm: The Somites and Their Derivatives | Lateral Plate Mesoderm | Snapshot Summary: Paraxial and Intermediate Mesoderm |

Molecular Biology of the Cell 4th ed. Alberts, Bruce; Johnson, Alexander; Lewis, Julian; Raff, Martin; Roberts, Keith; Walter, Peter New York and London: Garland Science; c2002 - Figure 21-78. Somite formation in the chick embryo | Figure 21-34. Origin of the mesoderm from cells expressing twist