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In the Womb is a documentary television special miniseries that was premiered on March 6, 2005, on the National Geographic Channel.Originally beginning as a special about human pregnancy (titled Life Before Birth in the UK), the program features the development of embryos in the uterus of various animal species.
In animals, the process involves a sperm fusing with an ovum, which eventually leads to the development of an embryo. Depending on the animal species, the process can occur within the body of the female in internal fertilization, or outside in the case of external fertilization. The fertilized egg cell is known as the zygote. [2] [5]
Images of embryos provide a means of comparing embryos of different ages, and species. To this day, embryo drawings are made in undergraduate developmental biology lessons. Comparing different embryonic stages of different animals is a tool that can be used to infer relationships between species, and thus biological evolution. This has been a ...
Prenatal development (from Latin natalis 'relating to birth') involves the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization , in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal development until birth .
Smaller species normally have a shorter gestation period than larger animals. [2] For example, a cat's gestation normally takes 58–65 days while an elephant's takes nearly 2 years (21 months). [3] However, growth does not necessarily determine the length of gestation for all species, especially for those with a breeding season. Species that ...
When developed enough to survive outside the womb, the cervix dilates and contractions of the uterus propel the fetus through the birth canal, which is the vagina. The ova, which are the female sex cells, are much larger than the sperm and are normally formed within the ovaries of the fetus before its birth.
In these large animals, the birth process is similar to that of a human, though in most the offspring is precocial. This means that it is born in a more advanced state than a human baby and is able to stand, walk and run (or swim in the case of an aquatic mammal) shortly after birth.
Fetal viability refers to a point in fetal development at which the fetus may survive outside the womb. The lower limit of viability is approximately 5 + 3 ⁄ 4 months gestational age and is usually later. [20] There is no sharp limit of development, age, or weight at which a fetus automatically becomes viable. [21]