Musculoskeletal System - Axial Skeleton Development

From Embryology
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Developing vertebra.jpg

Introduction

Adult axial skeleton

During the 3rd week the paraxial mesoderm forms into "balls" of mesoderm paired either side of the neural groove, called somites. Different regions of the somite differentiate into dermomyotome (dermal and muscle component) and sclerotome (forms vertebral column). Vertebral bone is formed through a lengthy process involving endochondrial ossification of a cartilage formed from mesenchyme.

The vertebral body begins as a bony collar that expands into regions of dying cartilage. The bony vertebral arch, enclosing the spinal cord, forms later and the arch remains open dorsally (linked by a ligament) to allow growth of the spinal cord.

The axial skeleton consists of: Skull, Auditory Ossicles, Hyoid bone, Vertebral column, Chest (sternum, ribs)

The vertebral column is a series of bone segments (vertebra) separated by specialized joints (intervertebral disc).

In the adult, the vertebra form rostro-caudally: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 1 sacrum, coccyx. There has been identified a population variability in the final number of vertebra.

Skeletal ossification continues postnatally, through puberty until mid 20s. Abnormalities of vertebral column development can lead to defects including scoliosis.

Musculoskeletal Links: Introduction | mesoderm | somitogenesis | limb | cartilage | bone | bone timeline | bone marrow | shoulder | pelvis | axial skeleton | skull | joint | skeletal muscle | muscle timeline | tendon | diaphragm | Lecture - Musculoskeletal | Lecture Movie | musculoskeletal abnormalities | limb abnormalities | developmental hip dysplasia | cartilage histology | bone histology | Skeletal Muscle Histology | Category:Musculoskeletal
Historic Embryology - Musculoskeletal  
1853 Bone | 1885 Sphenoid | 1902 - Pubo-femoral Region | Spinal Column and Back | Body Segmentation | Cranium | Body Wall, Ribs, and Sternum | Limbs | 1901 - Limbs | 1902 - Arm Development | 1906 Human Embryo Ossification | 1906 Lower limb Nerves and Muscle | 1907 - Muscular System | Skeleton and Limbs | 1908 Vertebra | 1908 Cervical Vertebra | 1909 Mandible | 1910 - Skeleton and Connective Tissues | Muscular System | Coelom and Diaphragm | 1913 Clavicle | 1920 Clavicle | 1921 - External body form | Connective tissues and skeletal | Muscular | Diaphragm | 1929 Rat Somite | 1932 Pelvis | 1940 Synovial Joints | 1943 Human Embryonic, Fetal and Circumnatal Skeleton | 1947 Joints | 1949 Cartilage and Bone | 1957 Chondrification Hands and Feet | 1968 Knee
System Links: Introduction | Cardiovascular | Coelomic Cavity | Endocrine | Gastrointestinal Tract | Genital | Head | Immune | Integumentary | Musculoskeletal | Neural | Neural Crest | Placenta | Renal | Respiratory | Sensory | Birth


--Mark Hill 09:25, 14 April 2010 (EST) Page Template only - content from original UNSW Embryology site currently being edited and updated.

Some Recent Findings

Textbooks

  • The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology (8th Edition) by Keith L. Moore and T.V.N Persaud - Moore & Persaud Chapter 15 the skeletal system
  • Larsen’s Human Embryology by GC. Schoenwolf, SB. Bleyl, PR. Brauer and PH. Francis-West - Chapter 11 Limb Dev (bone not well covered in this textbook)
  • Before we Are Born (5th ed.) Moore and Persaud Chapter 16,17: p379-397, 399-405
  • Essentials of Human Embryology Larson Chapter 11 p207-228

Objectives

  • Identify the components of a somite and the adult derivatives of each component.
  • Give examples of sites of (a) endochondral and (b) intramembranous ossification and to compare these two processes.
  • Identify the general times (a) of formation of primary and (b) of formation of secondary ossification centres, and (c) of fusion of such centres with each other.
  • Briefly summarise the development of the limbs.
  • Describe the developmental abnormalities responsible for the following malformations: selected growth plate disorders; congenital dislocation of the hip; scoliosis; arthrogryposis; and limb reduction deformities.

Computer Activities

Development Overview

Below is a very brief overview using simple figures of 3 aspects of early musculoskeletal development. More detailed overviews are shown on other notes pages Mesoderm and Somite, Vertebral Column, Limb in combination with serial sections and Carnegie images.

Mesoderm Development

Mesoderm cartoon 01.jpg Cells migrate through the primitive streak to form mesodermal layer. Extraembryonic mesoderm lies adjacent to the trilaminar embryo totally enclosing the amnion, yolk sac and forming the connecting stalk.
Mesoderm cartoon 02.jpg Paraxial mesoderm accumulates under the neural plate with thinner mesoderm laterally. This forms 2 thickened streaks running the length of the embryonic disc along the rostrocaudal axis. In humans, during the 3rd week, this mesoderm begins to segment. The neural plate folds to form a neural groove and folds.
Mesoderm cartoon 03.jpg Segmentation of the paraxial mesoderm into somites continues caudally at 1 somite/90minutes and a cavity (intraembryonic coelom) forms in the lateral plate mesoderm separating somatic and splanchnic mesoderm.

Note intraembryonic coelomic cavity communicates with extraembryonic coelom through portals (holes) initially on lateral margin of embryonic disc.

Mesoderm cartoon 04.jpg Somites continue to form. The neural groove fuses dorsally to form a tube at the level of the 4th somite and "zips up cranially and caudally and the neural crest migrates into the mesoderm.

Somite Development

Mesoderm cartoon 05.jpg Mesoderm beside the notochord (axial mesoderm, blue) thickens, forming the paraxial mesoderm as a pair of strips along the rostro-caudal axis.
Mesoderm cartoon 06.jpg Paraxial mesoderm towards the rostral end, begins to segment forming the first somite. Somites are then sequentially added caudally. The somitocoel, is a cavity forming in early somites, which is lost as the somite matures.
Mesoderm cartoon 07.jpg Cells in the somite differentiate medially to form the sclerotome (forms vertebral column) and dorsolaterally to form the dermomyotome.
Mesoderm cartoon 08.jpg The dermomyotome then forms the dermotome (forms dermis) and myotome (forms muscle).

Neural crest cells migrate beside and through somite.

Mesoderm cartoon 09.jpg The myotome differentiates to form 2 components dorsally the epimere and ventrally the hypomere, which in turn form epaxial and hypaxial muscles respectively. The bulk of the trunk and limb muscle coming from the Hypaxial mesoderm. Different structures will be contributed depending upon the somite level.

Limb Development

Mesoderm cartoon 09.jpg

References


Reviews

Articles

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  • Musculoskeletal System Development - All (44637) Review (5065) Free Full Text (6601)
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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, March 28) Embryology Musculoskeletal System - Axial Skeleton Development. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Musculoskeletal_System_-_Axial_Skeleton_Development

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© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G