PART-1

INTRODUCTION

He who sees things grow from the beginning will have the finest view
of them.
-Aristotle. 384-322 B.C.
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1
Introduction to Embryology
The nature of the body can only be understood as a whole – Hippocrates

What is Embryology?
All the cells of the body are produced from a single cell called the zygote. The zygote is formed
by the union of two cells viz. the female germ cell called the ovum and the male germ cell called
the spermatozoon. From the zygote is produced an enormous number of cells by a repeated
process of cell-division. These cells will ultimately give rise to an organism. Embryology deals with
the pre-natal stages of development of this organism. So we can define embryology as follows.
"It is a branch of developmental anatomy which describes the changes and processes of changes
up to birth." (Prof. Salam ex-prof. DMC)
The term embryology can be misleading; literally, it means study of an embryo, (4th to 8th week).
However, embryology refers to the study of both the embryo (4th to 8th week) and the fetus (3rd
month to birth), i.e. the study of prenatal development.

Parts of Embryology
Traditionally the study of embryology is divided into-
(1) General Embryology and
(2) Special Embryology
General embryology is the study of pre-natal (intra-uterine) development as a whole. It starts its
discussion with the description of formation of male and female germ cells. It then says,
o how these two different varieties of cells
meet to form a single cell (zygote) in the uterine tube,
o the division of this single cell into multiple,
o the transport of this multicellular body to the uterus for implantation,,
o formation of three layers of cells (germ layers) from these cells,
o folding of these layers to give them the shape of a fetus and
o formation of body or organ from these layers.

Special embryology studies the development of specific tissues (e.g. muscle), organs (e.g. ear)
or systems (e.g. cardiovascular system.)

Theories in Embryology
A peep into the past reveals that the early embryologists belonged to two schools of thought
regarding origin of parts of an organism. Those were-
1.Epigenesis theory- it said that "parts of an organism arise by a process or progressive
development from simple to complex structure through the utilization of cells as a building
units."
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2.Pre-formation theory- It holed that, "parts exist in the ovum preformed".
With the advancement of knowledge of chromosomes and genes It is now assumed that both the
theories are true with some limitations. (Datta)

Value of Embryology
1. When a student reads embryology, he can get a more clear conception and correct
understanding of the adult anatomy.
2. For the clinicians, embryology gives a guide line in many extents.
o Obstetrics involves a large measure of embryology.
o Knowledge of embryology proves importance to those interested in medicine too.
o Problem of malignancy (cancer) is basically embryological.
[Ref. Foundation of Embryology by Patten]