The Ethics of Medical Homicide and MutilationO'Malley, Austin
Religion
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation
O'Malley, Austin
Medical ethics
5. With the third week the stage of the embryo, technically so
called, begins. During this week the body of the embryo is indicated.
There are three layers of cells, already mentioned, the ectoderm,
mesoderm, and endoderm, and these lie on the floor of the enveloping
Amnion. The amnion is a loose fluid-filled sac (the caul) enveloping
the fetus to protect it from jarring. The fluid in it is the "waters"
that escape in parturition when the infant breaks through the caul.
The archenteron in the third week shows the beginning of a division
into two parts: the part that will go to the body proper of the
embryo, and the part outside the body of the embryo which will form
the yolk-sac, or umbilical vesicle, from which the embryo will draw
sustenance until the placental vessels have been formed. The part of
the archenteron that remains within the embryo proper begins in this
third week to be moulded into the head-cavity. The forepart of the
archenteron will later make the alimentary tract from the mouth to
the middle of the duodenum, or small intestine beyond the stomach.
The other part of the archenteron wall make the Allantois, the hind
gut and the bladder. The allantois becomes a part of the fetal
umbilical cord after the formation of the placenta.
During this third week the dorsal outline of the embryo is concave;
the heart has a single cavity, which will begin to divide during
the fourth week; the vitelline blood circulation begins, and the
blood-vessels of the visceral arch are laid down. The digestive
system is advanced to a gut-tract, which is a straight tube connected
with the yolk-sac. The liver evagination is present and the oral
pit is a five-sided fossa. The respiratory system is represented by
the _anlage_ of the lungs, a longitudinal protrusion of the ventral
wall of the esophagus. The genito-urinary system begins as the
Wolffian bodies. The mesoderm starts to segment to form the skin,
and the neural canal (from which develop the spinal cord and brain)
for the nervous system forms. The fourth ventricle of the brain is
indicated, and the vesicles of the fore brain, mid brain, and hind
brain are recognizable. The ears, nose, and eyes, muscular system,
skeleton, and limbs are also beginning to be recognizable. At about
the sixteenth or eighteenth day of gestation the various parts of the
embryo rapidly differentiate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account