when does neurulation occur in the course of human development
Human embryogenesis Following gastrulation, the ectoderm gives rise to epithelial and neural tissue, and the gastrula is now referred to as the neurula. The neural plate that has formed as a thickened plate from the ectoderm, continues to broaden and its ends start to fold upwards as neural folds. Neurulation refers to this folding process whereby the neural plate is transformed into the neural tube, and this takes place during the fourth week. They fold, along a shallow neural groove which has formed as a dividing median line in the neural plate. This deepens as the folds continue to gain height, when they will meet and close together at the neural crest. The cells that migrate through the most cranial part of the primitive line form the paraxial mesoderm, which will give rise to the somitomeres that in the process of somitogenesis will differentiate into somites that will form the sclerotome, the syndetome,[16] the myotome and the dermatome to form cartilage and bone, tendons, dermis (skin), and muscle. The intermediate mesoderm gives rise to the urogenital tract and consists of cells that migrate from the middle region of the primitive line. Other cells migrate through the caudal part of the primitive line and form the lateral mesoderm, and those cells migrating by the most caudal part contribute to the extraembryonic mesoderm.[9][13]
Heart development Heart development refers to the prenatal development of the human heart. This begins with the formation of two endocardial tubes which merge to form the tubular heart, also called the primitive heart tube, that loops and septates into the four chambers and paired arterial trunks that form the adult heart. The heart is the first functional organ in vertebrate embryos, and in the human, beats spontaneously by week 4 of development.[2]