7mm Frog Embryo Diencephalon

- some sections reveal the diencephalon, the posterior

Whole Mount division of the prosencephalon
7mm Frog characterizes: Olfactory pit
- appears as a cavity on the lateral surface of the head
Well-formed external gills
Functional heart Epiphysis
- a slight middorsal evagination of the brain vesicle
The embryo has changed its shape and has become a tadpole.
Form: pineal body in the adult
Tail
Head mesenchyme
- Serve as powerful swimming organ
- loose mesenchymal cells formed between the head
- Also provided with lateral segmented somites and finfolds
ectoderm and brain
on the dorsal and ventral sides

Forebrain
Diffrentiated into: Level of the Diencephalon and Optic cups
- Telencephalon (with two hemispheres)
- Diencephalon Portions of both the mesencephalon and the prosencephalon are
evident in this section with a constriction between them.
Stomodeum
- Deeply ingavignated Oral cavity
- surrounded by presumptive jaw cartilages
Olfactory pit
- surrounded by large pigmented cells Diencephalon

Epiphysis - posterior half of the forebrain

- formed from a circular knob of cells that are separated - appears as deep, lateral compressed regions to which the
from the brain optic stalks, infundibulum and epiphysis are attached

The notochord underneath the brain extends up to the tail. The head Mesencephalon
and trunk are bloated. The liver diverticulum can be identified. At the
- brain located posterior to the eye
same time, the midgut is excluded, the hindgut does not lose its
- center for reflexes associated with vision, hearing and
cavitybut persists as the cloaca.
movement of the head
Dorsal wall of the hindgut
Optic cup
- becomes extended into the tail rudiment as the post anal
gut - seen lateral to the brain
Later in the embryonic development it is broken up and - outer pigmented later and inner retinal portion
eventually disappears. - lens vesicle lies in its concavity
Hindgut in Amphibians Pharynx
- gives rise to a ventral evagination , the urinary bladder. - large and more rounded

Clustered mass of cells on each side of the pharynx

Form: mandibular arch (found on the posterior border of the
Level of the Telencephalon and Olfactory pits
stomodeum
Lateral to the ventral portion of the prosencephalon, both olfactory
Stomodeum
pits are now visible.
- appears as deep invagination of pigmented, midventral
Olfactory pits ectoderm at the anterior end of the pharynx
- began as two thickenings (placodes of ectoderm) that
Adhesive glands
invaginated and lengthened to form pits
- paired ectodermal thickenings found of the ventral surface
Form: nasal passages with olfactory receptors
of the head
The large indentation on the ventral surface of the embryo - secrete adhesive mucus for attachment to floating objects
- marks the beginning of the oral cavity Syn: cement glands, mucous glands, oral suckers

At this stage, the oral plate has become perforated and the embryo
now has an open mouth.

Telencephalon
- paired hemispheres occupying the anterior region of the
forebrain
 Level of the Rhombencephalon - defines the anterior/posterior axis in the developing
embryo
Section through the Thyroid - provides skeletal support during early development
Below the mesencephalon, a small portion of the wall of the Otic vesicle
infundibulum may be evident. - irregularly hallow organ on each side of the hindbrain
Developing cranial nerve ganglion - a closed chamber formed by the invagination of the otic
placode
- found lateral to the floor of the mesencephalon
- part of the peripheral nervous system Heart
- derived from neural crest cells - lies beneath the pharynx

Posterior portion of the optic cup may still be visible. Bulbus cordis
- most anterior heart chamber
Pharynx
Pericardial coelom
Had an expanded cavity with height and width
4mm frog - cavity that surrounds the heart and is bounded by the
being approximately equal
Width of pharyngeal cavity greatly exceeds the pericardium
7mm frog
height

Section through the heart

Thyroid
- arises as an evagination of the endodermal cells from the Sectioning of the external gills is evident on the outer surface of the
pharyngeal floor pharyngeal region.

External gills
- finger-like projections that protrude from the sides of the
Section through the otic vesicle
head
The characteristic roof of the rhombencephalon composed of a single Only small portions of the external gills are visible in any given
layer of flattened cells. section.

The notochord is now visible ventral to the rhombencephalon. In the heart-forming region, the ventricle may be seen with the
atrium appearing above.
Truncus arteriosus
- most anterior portion of the heart Esophageal plug
- evident within the pericardial coelom - a mass of cells that temporarily blocks the esophagus
before the amphibian larva begins to feed
Four subdivision of the heart:
(anterior to posterior order) Atrium
- truncus arteriosus - chamber of the heart that receives blood from the sinus
- ventricle venosus and delivers blood to the ventricle
- atrium - seen above the ventricle
- sinus venosus - atrium can be observed as a thin-walled chamber almost
filled with blood
Blood flows through the embryonic heart from the posterior (sinus
venosus) to the anterior (truncus arteriosus). Level of the Spinal Cord

Both otic capsules are now visible within the section. Otic capsules Section through the pronephros and midgut
derived from the ectoderm and will later differentiate into the inner
Rhombencephalon is decreasing in height and width and that the
ears.
thin-walled roof is also decreasing width. The rhombencephalon
Rhombencephalon gradually tapers into the spinal cord.
- 3rd brain vesicle
The coiled nature of the developing gut is readily evident in this
- Expands anteriorly to form the IV ventricle
section. The frog tadpole will become a tadpole will become a filter-
- Internal organization shows an unmistakable similarity to
feeder and needs a very long intestine.
that of the spinalcord
- Will further differentiate into: Glomus
Metencephalon (anterior) - two triangular-shaped structures seen ventral to the
Myelencephalon (posterior) dorsal aorta that hang down into the coelomic cavity
- tufts of small blood vessels surrounded on their lateral and
Notochord
ventral surfaces by the thin wall of coelom
- Round structure originating from the mesoderm - glomi are functional components of the pronephric kidney
- lying dorsal to the gut and ventral to the hindbrain - waste products from the blood diffuse from the glomi into
the coelomic fluid
Spinal Cord
- arises from the posterior most region of the neural tube

Somite
- segmented mesodermal blocks located on either side of
the developing spinal cord which arise from the dorsal
mesoderm
- will differentiate into:
sclerotome form part of the axial skeleton
myotome form muscle
dermatome form the dermal layer of the skin

Dorsal aorta
- primitive, paired longitudinal arteries of the trunk lying
beneath the notochord anterior to the gut

Pronephros
- initial excretor organ found in developing vertebrate
embryos

Nitrogenous Pronephric pronephric hindgut

exterior
waste tubules ducts (cloaca)

- functional in larval amphibians and fish

- later replaced by the mesonephric kidney
- seen as spherical structures located on each side of the
body segment of the embryo

Nephrostomes

- funnel-shaped opening of the pronephric tubules where

the coelomic fluid is swept
Midgut
- middle part of the gut with a small lumen
- having a thick, yolky floor
- derived from the archenterons
Form: small intestine

Section through the cloaca

Dorsal fin
- extension of the body wall along the mid-dorsal side of the
trunk and tail
- degenerates along the older specimens

Cloaca
- posteriormost chamber in the vertebrate digestive system

Proctodeum
- an ectodermal invagination on the ventral side of the
trunk at the base of tail
Form: anus