From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mesenchyme refers to loosely organized connective tissue present in the embryo regardless of origin.[1] Viscous in consistency, mesenchyme contains collagen bundles and fibroblasts. Mesenchyme later differentiates into blood vessels, blood-related organs, and connective tissues.[citation needed]
Embryonic connective tissue (mesenchyme):
All organs in the body contain mesenchyme.
[edit] Ectomesenchyme
Ectomesenchyme has similar properties to mesenchyme. The major difference is that ectomesenchyme is usually considered to arise from neural crest cells,[2] which are a critical group of cells that form in the cranial region during early vertebrate 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Sadler, T.W. (2006). Langman's Medical Embryology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, pp. 68-70. ISBN 0-7817-9485-4.
- ^ Weston JA, Yoshida H, Robinson V, Nishikawa S, Fraser ST, Nishikawa S (2004). "Neural crest and the origin of ectomesenchyme: neural fold heterogeneity suggests an alternative hypothesis". Dev. Dyn. 229 (1): 118–30. doi:10.1002/dvdy.10478. PMID 14699583.
[edit] External links
