Amnion

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Amnion

Surface view of embryo of Hylobates concolor.

Human fetus, enclosed in the amnion.

Details

Latin

Amniosinas

Identifiers

Gray's

p.56

MeSH

A10.615.284.277

TE

E6.0.1.2.0.0.9

FMA

80223

Anatomical terminology

For the alien race in Stephen R. Donaldson's The Gap Cycle, see Amnion (Gap Cycle).
The amnion is a membrane that when first formed, closely covers the embryo. It fills with
the amniotic fluid which causes the amnion to expand and become the amniotic sac which
serves to provide a protective environment for the developing embryo. It is a feature of
the amniotes which includes reptiles, birds, and mammals. Amphibians and fish are excluded
from this group. The amnion stems from the extraembryonic somatic mesoderm on the outer
side and the extraembryonic ectoderm on the inner side.[1]
Contents
[hide]

1In humans

2Clinical significance

3Other animals

4Additional images

5See also

6References

7External links

In humans[edit]
In the human embryo, the earliest stages of the formation of the amnion have not been
observed; in the youngest embryo which has been studied the amnion was already present
as a closed sac, and appears in the inner cell-mass as a cavity. This cavity is roofed in by a
single stratum of flattened, ectodermal cells, the amniotic ectoderm, and its floor consists of
the prismatic ectoderm of the embryonic diskthe continuity between the roof and floor
being established at the margin of the embryonic disk. Outside the amniotic ectoderm is a
thin layer of mesoderm, which is continuous with that of the somatopleure and is connected
by the body-stalk with the mesodermal lining of the chorion.
When first formed, the amnion is in contact with the body of the embryo, but about the fourth
or fifth week amniotic fluid (also calledliquor amnii) begins to accumulate within it. This fluid
increases in quantity and causes the amnion to expand and ultimately to adhere to the inner
surface of the chorion, so that the extra-embryonic part of the coelom is obliterated. The
amniotic fluid increases in quantity up to the sixth or seventh month of pregnancy, after which
it diminishes somewhat; at the end of pregnancy it amounts to about 1 liter.

The amniotic fluid allows the free movements of the fetus during the later stages of
pregnancy, and also protects it by diminishing the risk of injury from without. It contains less
than two percent solids, consisting of urea and other extractives, inorganic salts, a small
amount of protein, and frequently a trace of sugar. That some of the liquor amnii is
swallowed by the fetus is proved by the fact that epidermal debris and hairs have been found
among the contents of the fetal alimentary canal.

Clinical significance[edit]
Extra-amniotic pregnancy is a rare condition that result from a rupture of the amnion,
leading to development of the fetus within the extraembryonic coelom.[2]

Other animals[edit]
In reptiles, birds, and many mammals the amnion is developed in the following manner:
At the point of constriction where the primitive digestive tube of the embryo joins the yolk
sac a reflection or folding upward of the somatopleure takes place.
This, the amniotic fold, first makes its appearance at the cephalic extremity, and
subsequently at the caudal end and sides of the embryo, and gradually rising more and
more, its different parts meet and fuse over the dorsal aspect of the embryo, and enclose a
cavity, the amniotic cavity. This kind of amnion is known as pleuroamnion (formed by
folding), as opposed to schyzoamnion (formed by delamination).
After the fusion of the edges of the amniotic fold, the two layers of the fold become
completely separated, the inner forming the amnion, the outer the false amnion or serosa.
The space between the amnion and the serosa constitutes the extra-embryonic celom, and
for a time communicates with the embryonic celom.
Cats and dogs are born inside of the amnion that is cut opened by their mothers and eaten.
In elephants, "The amnios is continued from the base of the umbilical cord upon
the allantois, which is of considerable size, and is so interposed between the chorion and
amnios, as to prevent any part of the amnios attaining the inner surface of the placenta. The
amnios consists of two layers:one is the granular layer, continued upon the inner or foetal
surface of the allantois, and thence upon the umbilical cord; the other is the smooth outer
layer, continued upon the outer or chorional surface of the allantois, and thence upon the
inner surface of the chorion."[3]:348