Vascular Development of Selected Major Organ Systems

The cardiovascular system is fundamental to life. Its vessels are the conduits for delivery of nutrients and oxygen to organs and the removal of wastes. During embryonic development, the vascular system is instrumental in the formation of organs. It contributes to the form and pattern of organs as diverse as the limbs and the gonads. Recent advances in molecular biology and genomics have afforded great insight to the control of vascular development at subcellular levels of organization. Nevertheless, there is little recent assembled information at the tissue level of organization that describes the development of the vascular scaffold within the organ systems of the body.

Exponent has prepared a paper that fills this gap in our understanding, and which was recently published in Reproductive Toxicology (70: 3-20; 2017). The paper first reviews the modes of formation of embryonic blood vessels. This is followed by illustrated summaries of the developmental histories of the vascular supplies to selected major thoracic and abdominal organs, including the heart, gastrointestinal system, liver, gonads (ovaries and testes), and kidney. The paper concludes with a description of the arterial development of the upper and lower extremities.

For further information on this topic and to view the full paper, click here.