Tags


The Multi-Dimensional Human Embryo is a collaboration funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to produce and make available over the internet a three-dimensional image reference of the human embryo based on magnetic resonance imaging. The collection of images is intended to serve students, researchers, clinicians, and the general public interested in studying and teaching human development.

Carnegie stages are a system used by embryologists to describe the apparent maturity of embryos. An embryo is assigned a Carnegie stage (numbered from 1 to 23) based on its external features. This staging system is not dependent on the chronological age nor the size of the embryo. The stages, are in a sense, arbitrary levels of maturity based on multiple physical features. Embryos that might have different ages or sizes can be assigned the same Carnegie stage based on their external appearance because of the natural variation which occurs between individuals.