The works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 (of 4) : $b Separate memoirsBalfour, Francis M. (Francis Maitland)
Science
The works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1 (of 4) : $b Separate memoirs
Balfour, Francis M. (Francis Maitland)
Embryology; Zoology
Passing over some rather unimportant stages, I will come to the next
important one.
The general features of this (the third) stage in a surface view are--
(1) The increase in size of the blastoderm.
(2) The diminution in size of the segmentation cavity, both relatively and
absolutely.
(3) The appearance of a portion of the blastoderm projecting beyond the
rest over the yolk. This projecting rim extends for nearly half the
circumference of the yolk, but is most marked at the point where the embryo
will shortly appear. I will call it the "embryonic rim."
These points are still better seen from sections than from surface views,
and will be gathered at once from an inspection of Pl. 3, fig. 4.
The epiblast has become still more columnar, and is markedly thicker in the
region where the embryo will appear. But its most remarkable feature is
that at the outer edge of the "embryonic rim" (_er_) it turns round and
becomes continuous with the lower layer cells. This feature is most
important, and involves some peculiar modifications in the development. I
will, however, reserve a discussion of its meaning till the next stage.
The only other important feature of this stage is the appearance of a layer
of cells on the floor of the segmentation cavity.
Does this layer come from an ingrowth from the thickened edge of the
blastoderm, or does it arise from the formation of new cells in the yolk?
It is almost impossible to answer this question with certainty. The
following facts, however, make me believe that the newly formed cells do
play an important part in the formation of this layer.
(1) The presence at an earlier date of almost a row of nuclei under the
floor of the segmentation cavity (Pl. 3, fig. 1).
(2) The presence on the floor of the cavity of such large cells as those
represented in fig. 1, _bd_, cells which are very different, as far as the
size and granules are concerned, from the remainder of the cells of the
blastoderm.
On the other hand, from this as well as other sections, I have satisfied
myself that there is a distinct ingrowth of cells from the embryonic
swelling. It is therefore most probable that both these processes, viz. a
fresh formation and an ingrowth, have a share in the formation of the layer
of cells on the floor of the segmentation cavity.
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