Talk:2010 BGD Practical 6 - Week 3
Week 3
Week 3
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.
Facts: Week 4, 22 - 23 days, 2 - 3.5 mm, Somite Number 4 - 12
View: This is a dorsal view of the human embryo, the amniotic membrane has been removed. Top embryo is an early stage 10, bottom is late stage 10.
Mesoderm organization: lateral plate - intermediate mesoderm - paraxial mesoderm - axial mesoderm - paraxial mesoderm - intermediate mesoderm - lateral plate
Axial Mesoderm
- notochord
- mechanical role in embryonic disc folding
- molecular role in patterning surrounding tissues
Adult - contributes to the nucleus pulposis of the intervertebral disc
Paraxial Mesoderm
- differentiates rostro-caudally (head to tail)
- remains unsegmented in the head region.
- segments in the body region to form pairs of somites along the length of the embryo.
Adult - contributes vertebral column (vertebra and IVD), dermis of the skin, skeletal muscle of body and limbs
Intermediate Mesoderm
- named by position (between paraxial and lateral plate)
- differentiates rostro-caudally (head to tail)
- forms 3 sets of "kidneys" in sequence
- pronephros
- mesonephros
- metanephros
Adult - metanephros forms the kidney
Lateral Plate Mesoderm
- a "horseshoe shaped" space forms in the middle
- somatic mesoderm - closest to ectoderm
- space - forms the 3 body cavities (pericardial, pleural, peritoneal)
- splanchnic mesoderm - closest to endoderm
Adult - body connective tissues, gastrointestinal tract (connective tissues, muscle, organs), heart
Somite Development
Somite initially forms 2 main components
- ventromedial- sclerotome forms vertebral body and intervertebral disc
- dorsolateral - dermomyotome forms dermis and skeletal muscle
Sclerotome
- sclerotome later becomes subdivided
- rostral and caudal halves separated laterally by von Ebner's fissure
- half somites contribute to a single vertebral level body
- other half intervertebral disc
- therefore final vertebral segmentation “shifts”
Myotome
- Body - epaxial and hypaxial muscles
- Limbs - flexor and extensor muscles
Dermatome
- connective tissue underlying epidermis
- begins as a dorsal thickening
- spreads throughout the body