The Elements of Experimental Embryology

Originally published in 1934 as part of the Cambridge Comparative Physiology series, this book discusses the process of tissue differentiation in developing embryos of a variety of species. Huxley and de Beer examine important aspects of development such as symmetry, the mosaic stage of differentiation and the relationship between hereditary factors and differentiation. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science or embryology.

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Historical introduction to the problem of differentiation; 2. Early amphibian development: a descriptive sketch; 3. Early amphibian development: a preliminary experimental analysis; 4. The origin of polarity, symmetry and asymmetry; 5. Cleavage and differentiation; 6. Organisers: inducers of differentiation; 7. The mosaic stage of differentiation; 8. Fields and gradients; 9. Fields and gradients in normal ontogeny; 10. Gradient-fields in post-embryonic life; 11. The further differentiation of the amphibian nervous system; 12. The hereditary factors and differentiation; 13. The prefunctional as contrasted with the functional period of development; 14. Summary; Bibliography and index of authors; Appendix; Index of subjects.