Fetal Development

6 Pages 1599 Words

rients, hormones, maternal antibodies against disease, and drugs and alcohol through T he
placenta, it also receives carbo dioxide and oxygen . The spine and spinal cord grows faster than
the rest of the body at this stage and gives the appearance of a tail.



t the end of the fourth week, the embryo is 1/8 of an inch in length and it weighs less than three
hundredths of an ounce . the embryo has grown 100,000 times bigger than the original egg on the
day of fertilization. The second four weeks of development is a time of extremely rapid and crucial
development as the embryo quadruples in size. The brain begins controlling the movement of
muscles and organs. The brain waves can be detected and recorded. The head is growing rapidly
to accommodate the enlarging brain . the embryos head is still very large in comparison to body is
bent forward on the chest. The body Begins to straighten and elongate. all major organs develop-
the stomach, liver, spleen, and intestines. The heart tak...