THE HUMAN EMBRYO Edited by Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa The Human Embryo Edited by Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Ivana Zec Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published February, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechweb.org The Human Embryo, Edited by Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0124-6 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Introduction – Developmental Overview of the Human Embryo 3 Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa Chapter 2 Presenting Human Embryology in an International Open-Access Reference Centre (HERC) 21 Beate Brand-Saberi, Edgar Wingender, Otto Rienhoff and Christoph Viebahn Part 2 Implantation 35 Chapter 3 Optimal Environment for the Implantation of Human Embryo 37 Paweł Kuć Chapter 4 Immune Regulation of Human Embryo Implantation by Circulating Blood Cells 61 Hiroshi Fujiwara, Yukiyasu Sato, Atsushi Ideta, Yoshito Aoyagi, Yoshihiko Araki and Kazuhiko Imakawa Chapter 5 The Future of Human Embryo Culture Media – Or Have We Reached the Ceiling? 73 Deirdre Zander-Fox and Michelle Lane Chapter 6 Benzo[a]pyrene and Human Embryo 99 Shi Jiao, Bingci Liu and Meng Ye Part 3 Organogenesis and Genetics 109 Chapter 7 Developmental Anatomy of the Human Embryo – 3D-Imaging and Analytical Techniques 111 Shigehito Yamada, Takashi Nakashima, Ayumi Hirose, Akio Yoneyama, Tohoru Takeda and Tetsuya Takakuwa VI Contents Chapter 8 Cardiovascular Development in the First Trimester 127 Preeta Dhanantwari, Linda Leatherbury and Cecilia W. Lo Chapter 9 Development, Differentiation and Derivatives of the Wolffian and Müllerian Ducts 143 Monika Jacob, Faisal Yusuf and Heinz Jürgen Jacob Chapter 10 Cytogenetic Analysis of Spontaneous Miscarriage 167 Nobuaki Ozawa Preface Human embryology is now rapidly moving to a new phase due to recent innovation and advances of life science including ES and iPS technology. This new era also directs a difficult challenge for scientists in terms of technological and ethical issues for future human embryology. However, human embryology is difficult to research due to ethics involved in the collection of human materials. This book traces the early history and provides knowledge on demonstration of principles from ancient to the most recent embryo studies amidst the unresolved scientific and ethical issues. In the first introductory section, various human embryo collections are summarized with four well-known ones: The Carnegie, the Blechschmidt, the Hinrichsen and the Kyoto collections. Although remarkable progress has been achieved in studying each collection, there are very few reviews available that summarize the past and the present of the collections. Therefore, this book discusses in vivid detail how human embryology has changed since ancient discoveries to most recent research done. The next section covers “implantation” as a theme. This section reviews the outline of ethical and technical issues related to implantation. In this context, four chapters are included and discussed. The ethical issue and its adaptation depend on the country, region, race and religions. Although this section does not cover all the directions, the chapters are dedicated to all international persons to be free and open discussion for better understanding. We are glad this book will trigger deeper discussions of this issue. The third section deals with “organogenesis”. The techniques and tools for studying morphogenetic changes and fundamental understanding of organogenesis are discussed. In organogenesis, miscarriages often occur and genetic analyses are required for elucidation of the cause and one such paper reviewing cytogenetic aspects of miscarriages is adopted. In dealing with the special subject of this book, we wish to acknowledge the courtesy of the publishers and everyone involved in Japan and overseas for their valid X Preface contribution. We hope this book will help the readers to understand human embryo development better. Dr. Shigehito Yamada M.D., Ph.D., Congenital Anomaly Research Center, Kyoto University, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan Co-editor: Professor Tetsuya Takakuwa, M.D., Ph.D., Human Health Science, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan . THE HUMAN EMBRYO Edited by Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa The Human Embryo Edited by Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa Published by InTech. Overview of the Human Embryo 3 Shigehito Yamada and Tetsuya Takakuwa Chapter 2 Presenting Human Embryology in an International Open-Access Reference Centre (HERC) 21 Beate Brand-Saberi, Edgar. 2, here, we focus on the Carnegie and the Kyoto Collections. 1.2 The carnegie human embryo collection The basis of the Carnegie Human Embryo Collection was established by Franklin P. Mall.