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Prenatal development is the process in which an embryo or fetus (or fetus) gestates during pregnancy. Normal prenatal development lasts about 38 weeks and is divided into three stages: germinal, embryonic, and fetal. During these three stages of gestation, the original single-celled zygote develops into an embryo and then fetus [1, 2].
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Germinal Stage (Pre-Embryonic Stage). Prenatal development starts from the fertilization, or the union of individual male and female gametes, and lasts until birth. Conception normally takes place in the fallopian tube. The fertilized cell, the zygote, soon divides into two, then four, then eight cells, and so on. In the germinal stage, which lasts about ten days, the zygote assumes the bumpy appearance of a mulberry and is called a morula. During the next four days, the morula continues its journey down the fallopian tube toward the uterus. At the same time, the morula’s cells divide and the zygote...
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Mazur-Mosiewicz, A., Dean, R.S. (2011). Prenatal Period, Stages of. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2225
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2225
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