The two chief aims are (1) To continue to provide a detailed, well-illustrated account of the developing human nervous system based on histological examination of staged embryos of the Carnegie Collection (using the internationally accepted Carnegie staging system of Streeter and O'Rahilly). Silver impregnation of nerve fibers will be an essential feature, as will the preparation of precise graphic reconstructions, including the use of the Perspektomat for parallel perspective views. Tracts and nuclei of the developing brain, many of which appear earlier than has been appreciated previously, are being identified and mapped. Stages 11-23 are to be completed. (Stages 8 and 9 have been published by and stage 10 is being prepared.) (2) To incorporate appropriate data of stages 18-23 in computer-readable form at the Johns Hopkins Medical Instutions and analysed there, as has been done for stages 8-15 (in press) and is being undertaken for stages 16 and 17. This provides a previously unavailable precision in understanding the sequence and timing of developmental events, as well as the first appreciation of the (limited) degree of variation encountered at any one stage. The main long-term objective is to complete over a five-year period a precise, detailed study of the embryonic human nervous system at each developmental stage. (Animal studies are important but are not a substitute for the direct investigation of the human.) It is to be stressed that both the preparation of reconstructions and the selection, accumulation, and interpretation of the computer data re exceedingly time-consuming. The chief disciplines involved are human embryology and pathology (teratology), supplemented by computerized sorts and tabulations. The development of the nervous system is of fundamental biological and medical importance, and is crucial to an understanding of congenital anomalies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD016702-06
Application #
3313851
Study Section
Human Embryology and Development Subcommittee 2 (HED)
Project Start
1982-07-01
Project End
1990-06-30
Budget Start
1987-07-01
Budget End
1988-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1991) Development of anencephaly and its variants. Am J Anat 190:193-218
O'Rahilly, R; Muller, F (1990) Ventricular system and choroid plexuses of the human brain during the embryonic period proper. Am J Anat 189:285-302
O'Rahilly, R; Muller, F; Meyer, D B (1990) The human vertebral column at the end of the embryonic period proper. 3. The thoracicolumbar region. J Anat 168:81-93
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1990) The human brain at stages 18-20, including the choroid plexuses and the amygdaloid and septal nuclei. Anat Embryol (Berl) 182:285-306
O'Rahilly, R; Muller, F; Meyer, D B (1990) The human vertebral column at the end of the embryonic period proper. 4. The sacrococcygeal region. J Anat 168:95-111
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1990) The human brain at stages 21-23, with particular reference to the cerebral cortical plate and to the development of the cerebellum. Anat Embryol (Berl) 182:375-400
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1990) The human rhombencephalon at the end of the embryonic period proper. Am J Anat 189:127-45
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1989) The human brain at stage 16, including the initial evagination of the neurohypophysis. Anat Embryol (Berl) 179:551-69
Muller, F; O'Rahilly, R (1989) Mediobasal prosencephalic defects, including holoprosencephaly and cyclopia, in relation to the development of the human forebrain. Am J Anat 185:391-414
O'Rahilly, R; Muller, F (1989) Interpretation of some median anomalies as illustrated by cyclopia and symmelia. Teratology 40:409-21

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