Advances in Visualization of the Early Human Development

Abstract The anatomy and physiology of placental and embryonic development is a field where medicine exerts its impact on early pregnancy and opens fascinating aspects of embryonic differentiation. The introduction of high frequency transvaginal transducers as well as three and four dimensional sonography has resulted in remarkable progress in ultrasonic visualization of early embryos and fetuses. Ultrasound has been widely used in the field of early human development due to its safety, diagnostic accuracy and convenience. Normal fetal anatomy and development have been widely investigated using two-dimensional ultrasound and most of the knowledge regarding early human development were established through understanding of sectional images of fetal body and organs obtained by two-dimensional ultrasound. Usage of new techniques has produced more objective and accurate information of embryonal and early fetal development. For the first time parallel analyses of structural and functional parameters in the first 12 weeks of gestation become possible. This article deals with establishment of human life from ovum and sperm, though fertilization, detailed histological development and the establishment of the placenta, and early human development visualized by 2- and 3-dimensional ultrasonography.

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Novel application of three-dimensional HDlive imaging in prenatal diagnosis from the first trimester

Journal of Perinatal Medicine ◽

10.1515/jpm-2014-0157 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ritsuko Kimata Pooh ◽

Asim Kurjak

Keyword(s):

Human Development ◽

New Technology ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

First Trimester ◽

High Definition ◽

Noninvasive Diagnostics ◽

Anatomy And Physiology ◽

Early Human Development ◽

2D Ultrasound ◽

Early Human

AbstractRecent development of three-dimensional (3D) high definition (HD) ultrasound has resulted in remarkable progress in visualization of early embryos and fetuses in sonoembryology. The new technology of HDlive assesses both structural and functional developments in the first trimester with greater reliably than two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound. The ability to visualize not only fetal face, hands, fingers, feet, and toes, but also amniotic membranes, is better with volumetric ultrasound than 2D ultrasound. In this article, detailed and comprehensive structures of normal and abnormal fetuses depicted by 3D HDlive are presented, including various faces of Down’s syndrome and holoprosencephaly, as well as low-set ear and finger/toe abnormalities from the first trimester. Three-dimensional HDlive further “humanizes” the fetus, enables detailed observation of the fetal face in the first trimester as shown in this article, and reveals that a small fetus is not more a fetus but a “person” from the first trimester. There has been an immense acceleration in understanding of early human development. The anatomy and physiology of embryonic development is a field where medicine exerts greatest impact on early pregnancy at present, and it opens fascinating aspects of embryonic differentiation. Clinical assessment of those stages of growth relies heavily on 3D/four-dimensional (4D) HDlive, one of the most promising forms of noninvasive diagnostics and embryological phenomena, once matters for textbooks are now routinely recorded with outstanding clarity. New advances deserve the adjective “breathtaking”, including 4D parallel study of the structural and functional early human development.

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Opening the black box: Stem cell–based modeling of human post-implantation development

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.201810084 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 218 (2) ◽

pp. 410-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Kenichiro Taniguchi ◽

Idse Heemskerk ◽

Deborah L. Gumucio

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Human Development ◽

Experimental Models ◽

Uterine Wall ◽

Black Box ◽

Cellular Mechanisms ◽

Early Human Development ◽

Post Implantation ◽

Early Human

Proper development of the human embryo following its implantation into the uterine wall is critical for the successful continuation of pregnancy. However, the complex cellular and molecular changes that occur during this post-implantation period of human development are not amenable to study in vivo. Recently, several new embryo-like human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)–based platforms have emerged, which are beginning to illuminate the current black box state of early human post-implantation biology. In this review, we will discuss how these experimental models are carving a way for understanding novel molecular and cellular mechanisms during early human development.

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Putting early human development into the 4th dimension

Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics ◽

10.1007/s10815-012-9865-0 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (9) ◽

pp. 859-860

Author(s):

David F. Albertini

Keyword(s):

Human Development ◽

Early Human Development ◽

Early Human

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Development of 3D Ultrasound

Donald School Journal of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology ◽

10.5005/jp-journals-10009-1144 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 205-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kazunori Baba

Keyword(s):

Human Development ◽

Clinical Application ◽

3D Ultrasound ◽

Obstetrics And Gynecology ◽

General Interest ◽

Early Human Development ◽

3D Sonography ◽

Further Development ◽

Early Human ◽

Made In

Abstract Significant advances have been made in recent years in clinical application of 3D sonography in both obstetrics and gynecology. Since the author pioneered the use of 3D sonography many new clinical useful techniques have been used for better visualization of early human development and for the diagnostics of many gynecological problems as well as the use of 3D in management of female infertility. In this review we are describing further development in 3D ultrasound, which should be of general interest of readers of this journal.

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