Mesenchyme

Mesenchyme (also known as embryonic connective tissue) is the mass of

tissue that develops mainly from the mesoderm (the middle layer of the trilaminar germ disc) of an embryo. Viscous in consistency, mesenchyme contains collagen bundles and fibroblasts. Mesenchyme later differentiates into blood vessels, blood-related organs, and connective tissues.

Embryonic connective tissue (mesenchyme):

Derives from the embryonic mesoderm
Consists of loosely-packed, unspecialized cells set in a gelatinous extracellular matrix
Develops into other types of tissues: connective, bone, cartilage
Develops into other types of structures and systems: blood cells, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, circulatory system, lymphatic system.

All organs in the body contain mesenchyme.

Ectomesenchyme

Ectomesenchyme has similar properties to mesenchyme. The major difference is that ectomesenchyme arises from neural crest cells, which are a critical group of cells that form in the cranial region during early human development. Thus, ectomesenchyme plays a critical role in the formation of the hard and soft tissues of the head and neck such as bones, muscles and most importantly the branchial arches.

External links

Overview at ed.ac.uk

The actual descriptive text portion of the article above (and its Contents menu) are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License then in effect published by the Free Software Foundation. The text article uses material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesenchyme (retrieval date: 2007-05-27) and is provided "as-is" and without warranty. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify only the actual descriptive text portion of the article above (and its Contents Box) under the GNU Free Documentation License. A copy of the license is available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License. Any advertisements (or active links not embedded in the actual article) and the layout or selection thereof are excluded from such license.
(c) Ovidio Limited 2006-2009.

This website may utlize cookies and web beacons to help improve user experience and to collect aggregate usage data; we do not collect or otherwise use any personally identifiable information. Additionally, third parties may utilize cookies and web beacons in the course of serving ads on this website. Consult your web browser documentation for information about managing web cookies.