La semana 4: Derivados de las capas germinales y

plegamientos

Neurulación: Sistema nervioso y cresta neural

Derivados mesodérmicos

Derivados endodermicos
 El embrión trilaminar:
el destino de las capas embrionarias
 Derivados de las capas germinales
Ectodermo axial: cerebro, médula espinal
Ectodermo para-axial (cresta neural)
Ganglios raquídeos, melanocitos, médula
adrenal,
Ectodermo para-axial (placodas)
Oído, cristalino, epitelio nasal, ganglios
craneales

Ectodermo lateral: Epidermis

Mesodermo axial: Notocorda

Mesodermo para-axial:
Esqueleto axial, músculo, dermis

Mesodermo intermedio: Aparato uro-genital

Mesodermo lateral (somatico):

Tejido conectivo del tronco y extremidades A 21.70

Mesodermo lateral (visceral):

Corazón, vasos, musculatura
visceralmesenterio

Endodermo:
Epitelios respiratorios, digestivos y buco-
faríngeos
Los derivados del ectodermo: La neurulación

Ectodermo axial: cerebro, médula

espinal
Ectodermo para-axial (cresta neural)
Ganglios raquídeos, melanocitos,
médula adrenal,
Ectodermo para-axial (placodas)
Oído, cristalino, epitelio nasal,
ganglios craneales
Ectodermo lateral: Epidermis
Los derivados del mesodermo

Mesodermo axial: Notocorda

Mesodermo para-axial (somites):

Esqueleto axial, músculo, dermis

Mesodermo intermedio: Aparato uro-

genital

Mesodermo lateral (somatico):

Tejido conectivo del tronco y
extremidades
Mesodermo lateral (visceral):
Corazón, vasos, musculatura visceral,
mesotelios
 El mesodermo para-axial se organiza en
bloques: los somites
► El número de somites es característico de cada especie.
► La generación de los somites es cíclica: El reloj somítico. El gen hairy se
expresa de forma cíclica en el mesodermo presomítico y la parte posterior
de los somites.
► Los somites forman bloques epiteliales.
► La especificación AP de los somites depende del código HOX.
► La especificación DV genera dos grandes dominios: eclerotomo y dermo-
miotomo.
Los somites son bloque epitelizados de
mesodermo
Los derivados del endodermo

Endodermo:
Epitelios respiratorios, digestivos
y buco-faríngeos
4ª Semana: Plegamiento lateral
4ª Semana: Plegamiento lateral
4ª Semana: Plegamiento antero-posterior
4ª Semana: Plegamientos (resumen)
El plan corporal al inicio del período fetal: estadio
23 de Carnegir
Telencephalon
Diencephalon
Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Myelencephalon
Spinal cord
 Del tercer mes al nacimiento: El período
fetal y la placenta
Las primeras 8 semanas tras la fecundación se denominan el período
embrionario. Durante esta fase tiene lugar la formación del plan
corporal y la organogénesis. Por ello, durante esta fase el embrión es
particularmente vulnerable a los agentes teratógenos.

El período fetal comienza a partir de la 8ª semana y acaba con el

parto. El período fetal se caracteriza por el crecimiento y maduración
de los órganos, aunque una buena parte de la maduración sucede
durante los primeros meses de vida post-natal. Los cambios son
continuos y no se establecen sub-períodos durante la fase fetal como
se hace con los estadios de Carnegie durante el desarrollo
embrionario.
 El tamaño del feto
El tamaño del feto se expresa como la longitud vértex-nalga
(VN) o vértex-talón (VT) expresadas en cm, y que se
pueden estimar por métodos no invasivos.

The comparison of the fetal crown-rump length shows the enormous increase in size during the fetal
period. The fetal crown-rump length at 8 weeks amounts to just 3 cm while that of the fetus at birth
comes to over 30 cm (highly schematic drawing).
 El peso del feto

The weight of the fetus experiences its largest increase in the third trimester. The
variations, though, are quite large. This is emphasized with the scatter (light pink in the
diagram). Various hormones influence intrauterine growth. Initially they are mainly
maternal hormones passing through the placenta, but later, in the fetal period,
hormones produced by the fetus itself are also responsible for the weight increase.

The weight of the embryo/fetus can only be estimated with the help of length sectional
ultrasound measurements of various structures
 La placenta

La placenta humana es un órgano transitorio que media los intercambios fisiológicos

entre la madre y el feto.

Su origen determina que tenga una parte fetal y otra materna, con cargas genéticas
diferentes. Aunque las circulaciones materna y fetal están muy cerca, éstas
permanecen separadas por lo que se llama la barrera placentaria.

Durante la vida fetal, la placenta cumple las funciones respiratorias, digestivas y

renales. Además, la placenta es un órgano endocrino, que mantiene la actividad de las
hormonas hipotalámicas, hipofisarias y ováricas de la madre y el feto.

La placenta es por lo tanto un órgano autónomo que toma funciones reguladoras muy
importantes y su disfunción es fuente de importantes patologías.
 El origen de la placenta: el trofoblasto

Las céluas exteriores de la

blástula, el trofoblasto, originan
la placenta. La actividad
secretora diferencial de las
céulas de la mórula tras el
proceso de compactación genera
la ICM y las céulas del
trofoblasto.

7d La actividad enzimática en
contacto con el endometrio
permite la eclosión de la blástula
y la implantación.

9d El epitelio uterino recubre completamente el embrión. Las

células uterinas en la proximidad, bajo la influebcia de la progesterona
del cuerpo lúteo, reaccionan a la presencia del blastocisto y se
activan, convirtiendose en las células de la decidua.
 La formación de las membranas fetales y
placenta
3s
El embrión se nutre durante las primeras
semanas por difusión simple a través de
las vellosidades coriónicas.

Posterioremente, la demanda de gases

requiere el desarrollo de un sistema
circulatorio utero-placentario, en donde
las circulaciones materna y fetal están en
estrecho contacto y se maximiza el
intercambio.
4s

A partir de este momento, los

gases y nutrientes deben pasar la
barrera placentaria: Endotelio
capilar de la vellosidad, tejido
conectivo, citotrofoblasto,
Sincitiotrofoblasto.
 La formación de las vellosidades
Al inicio de la gastrulación, el
trofoblasto forma vellosidades
coriónicas que se vascularizan y
se adentran en el endometrio.
Las vellosidades están
recubiertas por citotrofoblasto.
Durante esta fase, toda la
cavidad celómica está rodeada
por velolosidades
La membrana coriónica en la 3s
El sincitiotrofoblasto forma la
capa más externa sin límites
celulares (sincitio), formando
cordones que infiltran el
endometrio. La actividad
apoptótica del estroma uterino
forma cavidades llamadas
lagunas. El sistema lacunar dura
hasta el 9d, cuando se inician las
vellosidades.
Vellosidades en la 4s
 La circulación y barrera placentarias

vasos espirales espacio intervilloso:

capilares maternos
decidua

corion

vasos umbilicales vellosidades coriónicas

cordón umbilical y capilares fetales
Circulación fetal Circulación materna
 Algunas preguntas

Why is the embryo more sensitive than the fetus regarding

infections and teratogenic substances?

Into how many stages can pregnancy be subdivided?

Which diagnostic possibilities are available today in order

to judge the healthy development of the fetus?
 Referencias

LANGMAN´S, Lippincot Wiliams & Wilkins 9-10th editions, 2004,

2006

LARSEN´S HUMAN EMBRYOLOGY, Churchill Livinstone,

Elsevier, 2008

EMBRYOLOGY.CH
http://www.embryology.ch/genericpages/moduleembryoen.html

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM:

http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/reprod/index.html
 Más información: edad fetal
In obstetrics the pregnancy weeks (PW) are
normally reckoned from the date of the Last
Menstrual Period (LMP). This is a point in
time that many women can easily remember.
Computed this way, the pregnancy lasts 40
weeks and the embryonic period -
accordingly - 10 weeks. Caution is
advisable, though, when wishing to calculate
the moment of ovulation - and thus
fertilization, closely connected with it -
because the moment of ovulation can vary
and depends on many factors (conditioned
by the environment and psychological
aspects). In embryology the temporal indices
(i.e., the PW), therefore, always refer to the
moment of fertilization even though in
practical midwifery the time following the
LMP is still used for computations.
After the 8th week, the fetus takes on typical human
features, even though at the end of the first trimenon,
the head is still relatively large in appearance. The
eyes shift to the front and the ears and nasal saddle
are formed.
The eyelids are also clearly recognizable now. On the
body, fine lanugo hairs are formed, which at the time
of birth are replaced by terminal hairs. The physiologic
umbilical hernia that arises in the embryonic period has
mostly disappeared. In the second trimenon the mother
feels the first movements of the child. In the last
trimenon the subcutaneous fatty tissue is formed and
stretches the still wrinkled skin of the fetus. The skin
becomes covered more and more with vernix
caseosa. This is a whitish, greasy substance und
consists of flaked off epithelial cells and sebaceous
gland secretions. In neonatology this vernix caseosa
is an important criterion for judging the maturity of the
child. If the birth occurs post-term, it disappears again
 Más información: crecimiento fetal

The following hormones are responsible for Prenatal growth thus depends on various
the intrauterine growth of the child: elements. Sufficient and balanced maternal
Growth hormone (somatotropin), produced nourishment is the prerequisite for the normal
in the adenohypophysis, and insulin-like thriving of a child. Further maternal factors are
factors from the liver stimulate the growth her size, her parity (i.e., how many children
and metabolism of cartilage, bones and the woman she has already given birth to),
muscles.· diseases such as hypertonia, diabetes
Glucocorticoid (e.g. ACTH), produced in mellitus, etc., as well as her living conditions
the adrenal cortex, accelerates fetal (smoking, drinking and/or other unhealthy
maturation. habits).
Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) released
by the thyroid gland have an influence on
fetal growth.
Insulin is an endocrine regulator of prenatal
growth.
Local growth factors influence tissue growth
and development.
Placental hormones have a large influence
on the child's growth. The placenta
produces factors that are partly protective
and partly stimulating.
 Mas info: estimación del peso fetal por
medio de ultrasonidos
Fig. 13 - Normal weight distribution curve
The intrauterine weight measurements are
based on extrapolated values of various
diameters obtained with ultrasound
(green). They do not correlate exactly with
the postnatal weight measurements.
One distinguishes three phases in the
weight distribution curve: the intrauterine
period, the transition period (or the
perinatal period – the first 6 - 12 days) and
the extra-uterine period (from 6 - 12 days
following delivery
 Más información: período de sensibilidad fetal
(teratogénesis)

Segment A represents the

embryonic period in which the
embryo is especially sensitive
with respect to deformities.
Within the first eight weeks,
the incidence of deformities
(blue curve), that lead to
miscarriages, decreases from
more than 10% to 1% during
the fetal period (B). The
frequency of neural tube
defects decreases from 2.5%
to 0.1% (green curve) by the
end of the embryonic period
 Más información: la placenta humana
The development of the placenta begins
when the blastocyst evokes the decidual
reaction in the maternal endometrium and
transforms this into an exceedingly well
perfused source of nutrition - the basal plate.
The neighboring glands of the endometrium
develop and the uterine wall gets to be turgid
locally. If an implantation has taken place the
trophoblast cells release a multiplicity of
hormones (HCG = human chorionic
gonadotrophine, HCS = human chorionic
somatomammotrophine, and also HPL = human
placental lactogen) that are necessary to
coordinate the nourishment of the endometrium
and to maintain the corpus luteum which, over
roughly 12 weeks of the embryonic
development, continues to secrete sexual
steroids. Later, the placenta itself starts to
secrete large amounts of progesterone and
thereby takes over the glandular function of the
corpus luteum.
Through the lytic activity of the
syncytiotrophoblast the maternal capillaries
are eroded and anastomose with the
trophoblast lacunae, forming the sinusoids.
At the end of the pregnancy the lacunae
communicate with each other and form a
single, connected system that is delimited
by the syncytiotrophoblast and is termed
the intervillous space
After the 16th day the extra-embryonic
mesoblast also grows into this primary
trophoblast villus, which is now called a
secondary villus 5c and expands into the
lacunae that are filled with maternal blood.
As was already mentioned, the ST forms
the outermost layer of every villus. +
At the end of the 3rd week the villus
mesoblast differentiates into connective
tissue and blood vessels. They connect up
with the embryonic blood vessels. Villi that
contain differentiated blood vessels are
called tertiary villi
 Más información: la estructura de la barrera
placentaria
The structure of the placental barrier
changes throughout development.
In the first trimester it consists of the
syncytiotrophoblast, the cytotrophoblast
(Langhans' cells), the villus mesenchyma (in
which numerous ovoid Hofbauer cells that
exhibit macrophage properties are found) and
the fetal capillary walls.
During the 4th month the cytotrophoblast
disappears from the villus wall (interactive
diagram) and the thickness of the barrier
decreases while the surface area increases
(roughly 12 m2 towards the end of the
pregnancy). In the 5th month the fetal vessels
have multiplied their branches and gotten
closer to the villus surface.
During the 6th month the nuclei of the
syncytiotrophoblast group together in the so-
called proliferation knots. The other zones of
the syncythiothrophoblast lack nuclei and are
adjacent to the capillaries (exchange zones).
The fetus is not rejected even though its set
of chromosomes differs from that of its
mother and halfway represents an allogenic
transplantation to the maternal organism (two
individuals of the same kind, but genetically
only half identical). This phenomenon
remains an enigma. After birth the maternal
organism rejects any tissue of the newborn,
even though the same tissue (''natural
allogeneic transplantation'') was accepted,
protected and nourished for nine months.
During pregnancy, the mother developed a
tolerance to her child. This phenomenon is
based on the specific antigen property of the
embryo and the placenta as well as on the
transitory changes of the maternal immune
system during pregnancy.
Sexually transmitted diseases:
In addition, the placenta also presents an
incomplete barrier against certain injurious effects of
drugs: Antibiotics and corticoids can pass through
the placental barrier. Depending on their size,
certain steroid hormones get through as well.
 Más información: barrera placentaria

1. Espacio intervelloso con sangre materna

2. Barrera placentaria Placental barrier of a terminal villus
3. Capilares fetales
4. Membranas basales de los capilares fetales y del sincitio trofoblasto fundidas
5. Endotelio del capilar fetal
6. Célula citotrofoblástica (infrecuente)
7. Membrana basal del capilar fetal
8. Membrana basal del trofoblasto
9. Sincitiotrofoblasto (zona rica en núcleos (proliferation knots)
 Mñás información: La decidua
En el lugar de la implantación, el
endometrio sufre la reacción
decidual: transformación epitelial de
los fibroblástos del estroma uterino y
la acumulación de lípidos y
glucógeno: la decidua.

Decidua basalis, donde sucede la

implantación y tiene lugar la formación
de la placa basal (3). Esta a su vez se
divide en zona compacta y zona
esponjosa (la que se desprende en el
parto)

La decidua capsular es la que rodea

el corion (2), y la decidua parietal (1)
recubre el resto de la cavidad uterina
(4). Alrededor del 4 mes, el
fecimiento fetal colapsa el espacio
uterino y ambas entran en contacto.
membrana amnio-coriónica
 Carnegie Stages of Human Development

The embryonic time comprises 56 days, i.e., 8 weeks from the moment
of fertilization. This time span is divided into 23 Carnegie stages and the
stage classification is based solely on morphologic features.

Carnegie stages are thus neither directly dependent on the chronological

age nor on the size of the embryo. This can be illustrated by two examples:
The closure of the rostral neuropore occurs by definition in stage 11 and
that of the caudal neuropore in stage 12. Further, between the 25th and
32nd days of the pregnancy, the stages are determined according to the
number of the somites that have been engendered. The individual stages
thus differ in how long they last .
Carnegie Stages of Human Development
Embryonic period 0-8 weeks

week 4

week 8

Fetal period
Birth
 Estadios de Carnegie 7-10 (1-4s)
http://www.embryology.ch/francais/iperiodembry/carnegie02.html
1 Vesícula vitelina C7/19d C9/21d
2 Línea primitiva
3 Nodo
4 Ectodermo/disco
embrionario

C10/23d 1 Línea primitiva

2 Pliegues neurales
3 Borde de sección del amnios
4 Canal neural
5 Somites (1-3ss)

1 Borde de sección del amnios

2a Surco neural
3 Pliegues neurales
4 Somites (4-12ss)
Estadios de Carnegie 11-12 (4-5s)
C11/24d
1 Tubo neural
2 Neuroporo caudal
3 Neuroporo anterior
4 Somites (13-20ss)
5, 6 arcos branquiales

1a Mamelón maxilar
C12/26d
1b Mamelón mandibular
2,3 Arcos branquiales (2º y 3º)
4 Somites (21-29ss)
5 Tubo neural
6 Corazón
P prosencéfalo
M Mesencéfalo
R romboencéfalo
 Fotografía de un embrión humano de 23d

Cavidad coriónica amnios Pedículo

cabeza

Saco vitelino 2º

Larsen
 Más información: Diagnóstico prenatal
Non-invasive methods of prenatal diagnoses
Among today's non-invasive methods for
prenatal diagnostics ultrasound stands at first
place. Further possibilities, especially in
advanced stages of the pregnancy and at the
time of delivery, consist in the symphysis-
fundus uteri distance (SFD) as well as the
cardiotocography (simultaneous recording of
infantile heart beats and maternal labor activity).
Moreover, the first infantile movements, with
those giving birth for the first time (primipara)
after the 18th week (20th week after the LMP),
with those giving birth again (pluripara) after the
16th week (18th week after the LMP), can yield
a surprisingly precise due-date.
Like no other method an ultrasound
examination makes it possible to obtain
information - non-invasively - about the
gestation age and thus about the upcoming
date of birth, as well as about the intactness of
the gravidity.
In a normal pregnancy, an ultrasound examination
has the following goals:
Determining the location of the implantation
Determining the vitality of the fetus/embryo
Diagnosis of a multiple pregnancy
Establishing the gestation age
Establishing fetal growth with the aid of growth
curves
Determining the fetal position
Determining the fetal morphology and sex
Determining the position and morphology of the
placenta
Determining the volume of amniotic fluid
Examining regions outside the cavum uteri
 Más información: diagnóstico por ultrasonidos

Very early picture of an Ultrasound image of a multiple

incipient pregnancy. An echo- pregnancy. Ultrasound image from
yielding zone of a few millimeters a triplet pregnancy in the 11th week.
indicates an incipient pregnancy.
This picture shows the young
embryo shortly after the
implantation