Embryology for K12 Students

Embryology - 5 Dec 2023 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.

<html5media height="384" width="352">File:Human development 001.mp4</html5media>

Click Here to play on mobile device

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 development 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.

Dog

Cat

Mouse

Chicken

Pig

Rabbit

Frog

The table below shows the development time for a large number of different animals, ranging from the opossum at 12 days to the elephant at 660 days.

Animal Development Time

Animal	Average Days
Bear (Black)	210
Bison	270
Budgerigar	18
Camel	410
cat	65
cow	281
chicken	21
Chimpanzee	236
Chinchilla	111
Coyote	63
deer (Mule)	200
dog	63
Donkey	365
Duck	28
Duck (Muscovy)	35
elephant	660
Elk, Wapiti	255
Ferret	42
Finch	14
Fox	52
Giraffe	425
goat	150
Goose	28
Gorilla	270
Guinea fowl	28
guinea pig	68
Hare	36
Hippopotamus	240
horse	338
Human	274
Leopard	95
Lion	108
Llama	350
Marmoset	150
Mink (European)	41
monkey (Macaque)	180
Moose	240
mouse	20
Muskox	255
Muskrat	29
Nutria, Coypu	130
opossum	12
Otter	285
Panther	90
Parrot	26
Pheasant	24
Pig	114
Pigeon	18
Porcupine	210
Pronghorn	230
Quail	16
rabbit	31
Raccoon	63
rat	21
Reindeer	225
Rhinoceros (African)	480
Seal	330
sheep	150
Shrew	20
Skunk	63
Squirrel (Gray)	40
Swan	35
Tapir	390
Tarsier	182
Tiger	103
Turkey	28
Walrus	450
whale (Sperm)	450
Wolf	63
Woodchuck	31

Animal Notes and Table Data Sources

Each animal species has different variations +/- the average values shown in the table.
Gestation is the carrying of an animal embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Except in the case of human gestational age GA.
Incubation is the laying of an egg (birds, reptiles, monotremes) with development occurring outside the female animal.

See also - Timeline Comparisons

Historic Embryology
1897 Pig \| 1900 Chicken \| 1901 Lungfish \| 1904 Sand Lizard \| 1905 Rabbit \| 1906 Deer \| 1907 Tarsiers \| 1908 Human \| 1909 Northern Lapwing \| 1909 South American and African Lungfish \| 1910 Salamander \| 1951 Frog \| Embryology History \| Historic Disclaimer

Additional Data Sources

Theiler K. The House Mouse: Atlas of Mouse Development (1972, 1989) Springer-Verlag, NY. Online
Witschi E. Rat Development. In: Growth Including Reproduction and Morphological Development. (1962) Altman PL. and Dittmer DS. ed. Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol., Washington DC, pp. 304-314.
The Genetics of the Dog. E Ostrander, E. and Ruvinsky, A. ISBN: 9781845939403 (2012)
Merck Veterinary Manual. Aiello, S.E. and Moses, M.A. (ed) ISBN: 0911910506 (2013) Online
Witschi, E. (1962) Development: Rat. In: Growth Including Reproduction and Morphological Development. Altman, P. L. , and D. S. Dittmer, ed. Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol., Washington DC, pp. 304-314.

Now follow the growth and changes in the human 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 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. More? K12 Professional Development 2014

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2023, December 5) Embryology Embryology for K12 Students. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Embryology_for_K12_Students

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