The yolk sac is a membranous
sac attached to an
embryo, formed by cells of the
hypoblast layer of the
bilaminar embryonic disc. This is alternatively called the umbilical vesicle by the
Terminologia Embryologica (TE), though ''yolk sac'' is far more widely used. In humans, the yolk sac is important in early embryonic blood supply,
and much of it is incorporated into the primordial
gut during the fourth week of
embryonic development.
In humans
The yolk sac is the first element seen within the
gestational sac during
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
,
usually at 3 days
gestation.
The yolk sac is situated on the front (
ventral
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
) part of the
embryo; it is lined by extra-embryonic
endoderm,
outside of which is a layer of extra-embryonic
mesenchyme, derived from the epiblast.
Blood is conveyed to the wall of the yolk sac by the primitive
aorta
The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes o ...
and after circulating through a wide-meshed capillary plexus, is returned by the
vitelline veins
The vitelline veins are veins that drain blood from the yolk sac and the gut tube during gestation.
Path
They run upward at first in front, and subsequently on either side of the intestinal canal. They unite on the ventral aspect of the canal.
...
to the tubular heart of the embryo. This constitutes the
vitelline circulation, which in humans serves as a location of
haematopoiesis
Haematopoiesis (, from Greek , 'blood' and 'to make'; also hematopoiesis in American English; sometimes also h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cell ...
. Before the placenta is formed and can take over, the yolk sac provides nutrition and gas exchange between the mother and the developing embryo.
At the end of the fourth week, the yolk sac presents the appearance of a small pear-shaped opening (traditionally called the ''umbilical vesicle''), into the digestive tube by a long narrow tube, the
vitelline duct
In the human embryo, the vitelline duct, also known as the vitellointestinal duct, the yolk stalk, the omphaloenteric duct, or the omphalomesenteric duct, is a long narrow tube that joins the yolk sac to the midgut lumen of the developing fetus. ...
. Rarely, the yolk sac can be seen in the
afterbirth as a small, somewhat oval-shaped body whose diameter varies from 1 mm to 5 mm; it is situated between the
amnion and the
chorion
The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It develops from an outer fold on the surface of the yolk sac, which lies outside the zona pellucida (in mammals), known as the vitell ...
and may lie on or at a varying distance from the
placenta. There is no clinical significance to a residual external yolk sac.
File:Gray24.svg, Diagram showing earliest observed stage of human ovum.
1 - Amniotic cavity
2 - Yolk-sac
3 - Chorion
File:Gray25.svg, Diagram illustrating early formation of allantois and differentiation of body-stalk.
1 Amniotic cavity
2 Body-stalk
3 Allantois
4 Yolk-sac
5 Chorion
File:Gray26.svg, Diagram showing later stage of allantoic development with commencing constriction of the yolk-sac.
1 Heart
2 Amniotic cavity
3 Embryo
4 Body-stalk
5 Placental villi
6 Allantois
7 Yolk-sac
8 Chorion
File:Gray28.svg, Diagram illustrating a later stage in the development of the umbilical cord.
1 Placental villi
2 Yolk-sac
3 Umbilical cord
4 Allantois
5 Heart
6 Digestive tube
7 Embryo
8 Amniotic cavity
As a rule the duct undergoes complete obliteration by the 20th week as most of the yolk sac is incorporated into the developing gastrointestinal tract, but in about two percent of cases its proximal part persists as a diverticulum from the small intestine,
Meckel's diverticulum
A Meckel's diverticulum, a true congenital diverticulum, is a slight bulge in the small intestine present at birth and a vestigial remnant of the omphalomesenteric duct (also called the vitelline duct or yolk stalk). It is the most common malformat ...
, which is situated about 60 cm proximal to the
ileocecal valve
The ileocecal valve (ileal papilla, ileocaecal valve, Tulp's valve, Tulpius valve, Bauhin's valve, ileocecal eminence, valve of Varolius or colic valve) is a sphincter muscle valve that separates the small intestine and the large intestine. Its ...
, and may be attached by a fibrous cord to the abdominal wall at the
umbilicus.
Sometimes a narrowing of the lumen of the
ileum
The ileum () is the final section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms posterior intestine or distal intestine m ...
is seen opposite the site of attachment of the duct.
Histogenesis
The yolk sac starts forming during the second week of the embryonic development, at the same time as the shaping of the amniotic sac. The
hypoblast starts proliferating laterally and descending. In the meantime
Heuser's membrane, located on the opposite pole of the developing vesicle, starts its upward proliferation and meets the hypoblast.
Modifications
*Primary yolk sac: it is the vesicle which develops in the second week, its floor is represented by
Heuser's membrane and its ceiling by the
hypoblast. It is also known as the exocoelomic cavity.
*Secondary yolk sac: this structure is formed when the extraembryonic
mesoderm separates to form the
extraembryonic coelom; cells from the mesoderm pinch off an area of the yolk sac,
and what remains is the secondary yolk sac.
*The final yolk sac: during the fourth week of development, during
organogenesis
Organogenesis is the phase of embryonic development that starts at the end of gastrulation and continues until birth. During organogenesis, the three germ layers formed from gastrulation (the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm) form the internal org ...
, part of the yolk sac is surrounded by
endoderm and incorporated into the embryo as the gut. The remaining part of the yolk sac is the final yolk sac.
Additional images
File:Gray14.png, Surface view of embryo of Hylobates concolor
The black crested gibbon (''Nomascus concolor'') is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon found in China, Laos, and northern Vietnam, with four subspecies.
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the species is confused. Previously grouped in the genus ...
(a gibbon).
File:Gray17.png, Human embryo—length, 2 mm. Dorsal view, with the amnion laid open. X 30.
File:Gray20.png, Dorsum of human embryo, 2.11 mm in length.
File:Gray21.png, Section through the embryo.
File:Gray30.png, Fetus of about eight weeks, enclosed in the amnion. Magnified a little over two diameters.
File:Gray31.png, Model of human embryo 1.3 mm long.
File:Gray32.png, Section through ovum imbedded in the uterine decidua
File:Gray977.png, Human embryo about fifteen days old. Brain and heart represented from right side. Digestive tube and yolk sac in median section.
See also
*
Yolk sac tumor
Endodermal sinus tumor (EST) is a member of the germ cell tumor group of cancers. It is the most common testicular tumor in children under three, and is also known as infantile embryonal carcinoma. This age group has a very good prognosis. In contr ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yolk Sac
Embryology of cardiovascular system