Early Development of

Zygote in Humans
Fertilisation
Fertilisation
1. During sexual intercouse,about 100 to 500 millions sperms will be
jaculatedinto the vagina in the form of semen
2. Trough the vagina, the sperms move into the uterus and towards the
Fallopian tube.
3. In the uterus, the number of sperm is greatly reduced. When the
sperms reach the Fallopian tube, there are only a few hundreds sperm
left.
4.Of all the sperms that managed to move towards the secondary oocyte,
only one sperm will fertilise the secondary oocyte.
5. In the Fallopian tube,the first sperm that reaches the secondary oocyte
will penetrate into the egg membrane with its head.
6.Upon entry of the sperm, the secondary oocyte is stimulated to undergo
meiosis (2). An ovum and a polar body is formed.
7. The nucleus of the sperm the fuses with the nucleus of the ovum to
form a zygote.The process is called fertilisation.
8. As soon as fertilisation occurs, a wall is built around the fertilised ovum
to prevent any further entry of sperms.
The Nuclei Fuse Together

Development of Zygote
1. As the the zygote moves down the
Fallopian tube, it divides repeatedly
trough mitosis to form a blastocyst.
(a) The zygote undergoes mitosis
division to
form a zygote with two cells.

Cleavage (divide via mitosis) forms
the 2 cell stage

(b) Both cells the divide to form a zygote
with four
cells.
They split again to form the 4 cell
stage

(c) Subsequently, mitosis occurs to form a
zygote with eight cells, sixteen cells and
finally a zygote with a few hundred cells.


(d) When the zygote reaches the uterus, it has
become a solid ball with hundreds of cells,
called morulla.
And eventually form a Morula

(e) Eventually, the mass of hundreds of
cells changes into a fluid-filled sphere
called blastocyst. The blastocyst
consists of an outer layer of cells and an
inner cell mass.

BLASTOCYST
Morulla
(f) The outer layer of cells will later
develop into placenta and the inner cells
mass will develop to form an embryo.



Implantation of Blastocyst
1. During the implantation, the outer layer of the blastocyst
attaches to the trobhoblast villi.
2. The villi secrete enzymes to dissolve the cells in the
uterine wall, forming a cavity that allows the blastocyst to
be embedded into the wall.
3. The villi with rich supply of blood capillaries extend into
the endometrium to implant the blastocyst.
4. In the endometrium,, the inner cell mass in the blastocyst
will develop to form the embryo.
5. The villi from the embryonic tissue and the cells of the
uterine wall (maternal tissue) will form the placenta.
6. Dissolved gases and nutrients from the mothers blood in
the uterine wall could diffuse into the trophoblast villi of
the placenta that contains embryos blood.
7. The embryo will develop to form a foetus
within two months.


8. The foetus will then develop throughout the
whole term and is then born as a baby.

Formation of Twins.
(a) Identical twins
1. Identical twins develop from a single zygote. Only one sperm and one
ovum are involved in fertilisation to produce a single zygote.

2. During the early development stage, the zygote divide completely
into two identical zygotes.

3. Each zygote develops to form an embryo within the same blastocyst.

4. Both embryo develop to form two separate foetus but share the
same placenta.

5. The two embryos are genetically identical because they developed
from a single zygote.

6. The two identical individuals (twins) will have inherited traits and
are identical in every aspect; same sex, blood group and physical
characteristics.
(b) Siamese twins (conjoined twins)
1. There are times during the formation of identical twins
when the zygote does not divide completely.
2. As a result, two zygotes are formed but they are
conjoined at certain parts of the body or organ. The
conjoined zygotes develop into conjoined embryos and
finally become a pair of conjoined twins or commonly known
as Siamese twins.
3. The siamese twins may be joined physically or may share
certain organs such as stomach, heart or brain.
4. Siamese twins are genetically because they develop from
the same single zygote.
5. Hence, Siamese twins are also identically with regards to
their sex, blood group and all inherited traits.



Siamese twins
(c) Fraternal twins.
1. Formed when two ova are released from the ovaries
simultaneously and are fertilised by two different sperms
respectively.
2. Two separate zygote are formed and each develop individually
to form two separate embryos. The embryos develop to
form two foetus that have their own placenta.
3. Characteristics if the fraternal twins.
- They are genetically different because they are formed
from two different ova and two different sperms.
- They are physically different and may or may not be of the
same sex. However, they may have certain similar traits, as
other siblings in the family would.
4. Fertility treatment that involves high dosage of FSH can
stimulate the ovary to release more than one ovum during
ovulation. This may result in multiple births and the
formation of fraternal twins.


Structure and Function of Placenta
on Foetus Development.
1. Placenta is an organ by which the embryo is attached onto the uterus
wall. It is made of embryonic tissues and maternal tissue from the
uterine wall.
2. During implantation, trophoblast villi from the other layer of blastocyst
are extended into the uterine wall to form the placenta.
3. Each villus has a network of blood capillaries that are separated from
the mothers blood.
4. The placenta forms a selective barrier betwee the motehrs blood and
the foetal blood.
5. Exchange the substancex occurs through diffusion between the
mothers blood and the foetal blood.
6. The placenta is joined to the foetus by the umbilical cord.
7. In the umbilical cord, these are two blood vessels to transport
substances between the placenta and the foetus : umbilical vein and
umbilical artery.
8. The umbilical vein transport from the placenta to the foetus while the
umbilical artery transport substances from the foetus to the
placenta.

9. The mothers blood that flows into the placenta via
the mothers artery is rich on oxygen and dissolved
food materials (nutrients).

10. In the placenta, oxygen and nutrients (glucose, amino
acids, mineral salts, lipids and vitamins) from the
mothers blood diffuses across the villi membranes of
the placenta into the foetal blood. Then, they are
transported to the foetus via the umbilical vein.

11. Carbon dioxide and nitrogenous waste (urea) from
the foetus are transported out of the foetus via the
umbilical artery of the placenta. These waste product
are diffused out of the placenta in to the mothers
blood. The waste products will be removed from the
mothers blood by the mothers excretory system.
12. Functions of the placenta.
(a) Allows exchange of substances
between the mothers blood and the
foetal blood.
(b) Allows the embryo or foetus to attach
to the uterine wall.
(c) Transport antibodies from the
mothers blood to the foetus.
(d) Secretes hormones progesterone and
oestrogen.

13. Adaption of placenta for its function.
(a) Numerous villi in the placenta, to increase
the surface area and to facilitate diffusion.

(b) Thin membrane which separates the foetal
blood capillaries from the mothers blood
capillaries.

(c) Both the uterine wall and the placenta are
supplied with rich networks of capillaries.
14. The blood of the mother and the foetus do
not mix. This is important to;

(a) Protect the foetus from the higher
pressure of the mothers blood, which could
damage the delicate foetal blood vessels.

(b) Prevent certain toxic substances in the
mother blood from entering the foetal
blood.