DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOETUS


The most useful homeopathy remedies for Development of Foetus symptoms from the book The diseases peculiar to women and young children by H.N.Guernsey. …


HAVING thus described the primary development and organization of the ovum with its appendages, we now come to the study of the foetus as a whole, with particular reference to its safe delivery from its gestative world to a more independent state of existence. But before proceeding to trace the intra-uterine life of the full them, it will be proper to review the ground already surveyed; this will be best done by a careful examination of Palate III., Figs. 58, 59 and 60, in which are delineated the embryo and appendages up to the already described state of development.

EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES IN PLATE III.

Fig. 58. The human ovum, m of its natural size, at about the thirtieth or thirty-sixth day.

Fig.59. The same ovum, of its natural size, laid open to show its constituent parts. A. A. The chorion. B. The amnion. C. The foetus. D. The umbilical vesicle.

Fig. 60. The same ovum highly magnified, and opened in such a way as to exhibit the principal relations existing between the embryo and its appendages. The walls of the abdomen and chest have been cut away so as to bring the viscera into view and the umbilical cord has also been split up, for the purpose of showing how the appendages of the foetus are brought into relation with this latter.

A.A. The chorion, consisting of two layers, placed back to back, and confounded with each other, but which have been dissected apart for a limited extent at A’ A’.

B.B. The amnion, laid open, so as to show how it is continuous with the umbilical cord, along which it is reflected, thereby forming a sheath, which, under the form of the canal B’ B’, is directly continuous with the umbilicus or the umbilical walls c c of the embryo.

D. The umbilical vesicles, and D’ its pedicle.

D” The point where this pedicle communicates with the intestine

E.

E. The loop of the intestine prolonged into the cord.

F. The urachus, continuous by one extremity, g, with the chorion, and by the other with the rectum at the point M.

ii. The umbilical arteries.

j. The part of the right auricle from which the umbilical vein course off.

K. The vena cava inferior.

M. The inferior surface of the liver.

N. The omphalo-mesenteric vein.

O. The point where this vein empties into the umbilical vein.

P. The omphalo-mesenteric artery.

I. The heart.- 2. The arch of the aorta. 3. The pulmonary artery. 4. The lung of the right side. 5. The Wolffian body. 6. The branchial fissure, which is converted into the extends ear. 7. The lower jaw. 8. The upper jaw. 9. The nostril of the right side. 10. The nasal canal still forming a kind of fissure, extends from the eye to the nostril. 11. The caudal extremity, or coccyx, projecting like a tail. 12. The upper extremity. 13. The lower extremity.

SUCCESSIVE DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT OF THE FOETUS.- The first indications of the formation of a new human being that it is possible to discover, even by the help of a microscope, consist in an oblong figure, obtuse at one extremely, swollen in the middle, blunt-pointed at the other extremity. This rudimentary embryo is slightly curved forwards, is of a grayish-white color, of a gelatinous consistence, from two to four line long, and weighs one or two grains. Here a slight depression, representing the neck, enables us to distinguish the head; the body is marked by the swollen centre, but there are no traces of the separate extremities. So much can be observed about the end of the third week after conception.

At about the fifth week the embryo is found much more distinct. The head is very large in proportion of the rest of the body; the eyes are represented by two black spots; and the upper extremities are represented by small protuberances on the sides of the trunk. The embryo is now nearly two-thirds of an inch in length, and weighs about fifteen grains. The umbilical cord and now be distinguished in its rudimentary stage; and the lower extremities began to appear in the shape of two minute rounded tubercles. Minute depression may now be discerned between the vertebrae, and the embryo is so much curved forwards that its caudal portion very nearly approximates the head. Till about this time a straight artery has been observed to beat with the regularity of the pulse; but now it appears doubled somewhat in the shape of an adult heart, although as yet it has but one auricle and one ventricle. But as the time advances we find at length the perfect heart, with its two auricles and two ventricles, all developed form the original straight artery. The division of the first cardiac cavity into others is effected by partitions thrown up, or by contractions accomplished in the course of the same natural and orderly development. The septum which divides this primary ventricle into two, is developed from the aped towards the base between the pulmonary artery and the aorta, so that we shall open the pulmonary artery from the right ventricle, and the aorta from the left ventricle.

At this period the lungs appear to exist in five or six different lobes, and we can barely distinguish the bronchial tubes, terminating apparently in minute cul-de-sacs. Along the vertebral column may be perceived two large glandular structures, which extend from the lung to the bottom of the pelvis. these structures, termed the Wolffian bodies, are constituted by an excretory canal which runs through their whole length, and perform and functions of the kidneys until the latter are developed. By means of numerous caeca which appear on one side only of their surfaces, they secrete a fluid which is poured into the canal and thence transmitted into the temporary cloaca. The Wolffian bodies disappear upon the development of the kidneys, and leave no traces of their former existence. Cazeaux.

A second canal, perfectly distinct, although lying alongside of that of the Wolffian body, is also to be discerned, which presents in the adult, and, according to the sex, becomes either the oviduct or the was deferens. At about the same period of embryonic life may be distinguished four transverse fissures upon each side of the neck, which open into the pharynx. These are separated by fleshy partitions that correspond with the branchial arcs of fishes, and they may for a time serve some similar or corresponding purpose. In the course of the subsequent development these fissures are dispersed, and disappear, with the exception of one on each side, Fig. 60, Pale III., which is converted into the external ear. At about the same period, upon what appears to be the face, appear two isolated tubercles, which gradually approach the mesian line as development goes on, and from the upper jaw. The double hair-lip, so often seen in children, results from the failure of development of the upper jaw and nose, as the nostrils originally constituted one cavity on a mesian line with the mouth.

At about the seventh week the first centres of ossification appear in the clavicle, and subsequently on the lower jaw. The intestines still extend some distance along the interior of the umbilical cord; the omphalo-mesenteric canal is nearly obliterated, although it may still be traced as far as the umbilical vesicles, where it is reduced to a mere thread. The anus is not yet opened or formed. The kidneys now begin to be formed, and soon after the genital organs. The urinary bladder is first seen in the form of a small tumor continuous with the urachus. And the embryo is about one inch in length.

At two months the rudiments of the extremities become more prominent. The forearm and hand can be distinguished, but not the arm; the hand is larger than the forearm, but it is not supplied with fingers. The cord had not yet become spiral, and still contains a large quantity of intestine; it is four or five lines in length, and is found to proceed from the lowest point of the abdomen. A minute tubercle may be distinguished between the cord and the termination of the spine, marking the locality of the genital organs, but the sex cannot yet be determined. The length of the embryo is now from one inch and a half to two inches, and it weighs from three to five drachms. The eyes are discernible, but still uncovered by the rudimentary lids. The nose forms an obtuse eminence, the nostrils are rounded and separated; the mouth is gaping and the epidermis can be distinguished from the true skin.

At ten weeks the embryo is from one and a half to two and a half inches long, and its weight is one ounce or one ounce and a half; the eyelids are more developed and descend in front of the eyes; the puncta lachrymalia are visible, and the mouth begins to be closed by the development of the lips. The walls of the thorax are now more completely formed, so that it is no longer possible to see the movement of the heart. The fingers become distinct, and the toes appear like small projections webbed together like a frog’s foot. The umbilical cord now assumes the spiral form, still contains a portion of the intestine in its base, and its place of attachment appears higher up in the abdomen.

At the end of the third month the weight of the embryo is from three to four ounces, and its length form five to six inches; the eyeballs are seen through the lids; the pupils of the eyes can be discerned; the forehead, nose and lips can be clearly made out. The neck now appears between the head and shoulders; the cord contains no intestine, and its spirals are more numerous and apparent; the finger-nails resemble thin membranous plates; the sex may be determined; and the skin shows more firmness, although apparently without fibrous structure; it is still rosy hued, thin and transparent.

H.N. Guernsey
Henry Newell Guernsey (1817-1885) was born in Rochester, Vermont in 1817. He earned his medical degree from New York University in 1842, and in 1856 moved to Philadelphia and subsequently became professor of Obstetrics at the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania (which merged with the Hahnemann Medical College in 1869). His writings include The Application of the Principles and Practice of Homoeopathy to Obstetrics, and Keynotes to the Materia Medica.