Embryology for K12 Students

Embryology - 1 Oct 2026 Expand to Translate
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Introduction

This is page has been made to help the younger student (from K to 12) understand some of the basics of how an embryo grows.

<mediaplayer width='360' height='410' image="http://php.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/6/61/Human_development_001_icon.jpg">File:Human development 001.mp4</mediaplayer> Cartoon of Human Development

This movie covers the 9 months of human development. Starting after fertilization and ending with the fetus just before birth.

The movie also shows how the embryo attaches to the mother's uterus (right) and how the placenta forms.

The movie near the end shows only the fetus.

In the first trimester (1-3 months) we call development an embryo (embryonic) and in the second trimester (4-6 months) and third trimester (7-9 months) we call development a fetus (fetal).

See also Animal Life Cycles and some student Embryology Questions

Start Here

Chicken embryo at 12 days

In humans, the growth of a baby inside a mother takes about 9 months.

In chickens, mice and rats this growth only takes about 3 weeks.

Question: How long does it take for cats and dogs to develop? (Dogs)

During this time a single cell will grow into many different cell types with different shapes and jobs to do in the body.
A similar process will occur in all different embryos.
In humans, many important changes occur in the first few weeks of development and much of the following 9 months is growth.

Now follow the growth and changes in the embryo over time.

Next: Week 1

Mouse Embryo at 11.5 days (Views of front, right, back and left)

Teachers Note

Author Comments
K12 pages are prepared for students of primary and secondary education. Note that some content on other content pages may not be suitable for young students. All suitable pages have Category:K12 at the bottom of the page. First, use the browser "View" option to zoom in once or twice to make the print larger. It is also difficult to make notes suitable to cover the entire K -12 age group. For younger students I suggest showing the movies of embryo growth and other movies Quicktime Movies or Flash Movies. Also the Animal Development pages have many pictures of different animal embryos. These notes are still not yet complete. I am looking for teachers who would like to contribute some suitable content.

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2026, October 1) Embryology Embryology for K12 Students. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Embryology_for_K12_Students

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