28. Human Development
Embryonic Development (Weeks 3-8)
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This is just going to be a quick review of embryonic layer specialization. We've put all this information together in one table for you to kind of highlight all of the major structures that each of those embryonic layers will develop into. And this table is by no means exhaustive but we did focus on the structures that students are typically expected to know. So first up, we have that endoderm or that inner skin and that will become the epithelial lining of many structures within the digestive, respiratory, and urogenital systems. And one way to remember that is that you can think of how the endoderm, or this inner skin, essentially becomes the innermost lining of your body. So the inner skin becomes some of the innermost structures of your body. Next up, we have that mesoderm or the middle skin and that one is our heavy hitter. So that's going to be forming the skeleton, dermis of the skin, skeletal muscle, the cardiovascular system, kidneys, gonads, the connective tissue of limbs, as well as the membranes of many body cavities. So one way to kind of think about this is that many mesodermic structures are literally in the middle of these endodermic and ectodermic structures. So in between the epithelial lining of your body and the epidermis of the skin. So this middle layer pretty much stays in the middle even after all that development has taken place. And then finally, we have the ectoderm or the outer skin and that will go on to form the majority of the nervous system, your sense organs, and the epidermis of your skin. And one nice easy memory tool there is that ectoderm literally translates to outer skin and that is what it forms, your epidermis. So that one's pretty easy. And then you can also think about how your brain and your sense organs are basically the parts of your body that help you interact with the outer world or with your environment. So, the outer skin helps you interact with your outer world. Now, our recommended study strategy here is going to be to mainly just focus on studying the endoderm and the ectoderm because they are so much more specific. And by doing that, you're essentially only memorizing 6 things. So you've got, you know, 3 for your endoderm and then 3 for your ectoderm. So, you know, rather than than just root memorizing this entire list, just memorize these six things and then if you see anything else on your quiz or your exam, then you'll know that that must be a mesoderm structure. So if you're if, you know, if if you memorize these 6 and then you take your exam and that, you know, it's talking about what layer turns into the skeleton or the kidneys, you think, well, that's not on my list of 6 things, so that must be the mesoderm. So that's a little bit easier than trying to memorize all of these things at the exact same time. So that is our little tip for you there. Alright, everyone. So best of luck and happy studying. Bye bye.
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