Organogenesis is the formation of the organ primordia in Carnegie stages 10 to 23, corresponding roughly to days 28 to 56 of prenatal development. In this phase, the anlagen of all organs arise from the three germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm).
Key events
- CS 10: First heartbeat. The heartbeats are produced by a still-primitive cardiac anlage — from this stage onward the embryo is perfused.
- CS 11—12: Beginning of brain development. Neural tube closure takes place.
- CS 14—17: Formation of the lung buds, stomach, small intestine.
- CS 18—20: Differentiation of the limb buds.
- CS 23 (about day 56): End of the embryonic period. Structurally, all essential organs are laid down; thereafter the fetal phase begins, with growth and functional maturation.
Personal-ontological significance
Organogenesis is the phase in which the human embryo undergoes its bodily structuration. From the substance-ontological position it follows that the embryo’s personhood does not begin with organogenesis, but already with the fusion of the gametes (cf. beginning of human existence). Organogenesis is the actualization of an essential disposition already present — not the constitution of a new substance.
Whoever ties personhood to the existence of functional organs (in particular the brain) holds an empirical-functionalist concept of person and fails to recognize that the First Dimension of personhood is given from the very beginning.
Ontological classification
Superordinate concept: Prenatal Phase (German) (subprocess)
Ontological relations:
- lies within: embryonic phase (German)
- followed by: fetal phase
- defined over: Carnegie stages 10—23
- marks the beginning of: first heartbeat (CS 10)
Chapter assignment: Chapter 4: What Is Human Personhood? (German)
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.
Further sources:
- O’Rahilly, Ronan & Müller, Fabiola (2010): Developmental Stages in Human Embryos: Revised and New Measurements. Cells Tissues Organs 192(2): 73—84.
- O’Rahilly, Ronan & Müller, Fabiola (2001): Human Embryology and Teratology (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley-Liss.
- Bexten, Raphael E. (2017): Was ist menschliches Personsein? Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, doctoral dissertation.
See also
- Carnegie Stages
- Embryonic Phase (German)
- Fetal Phase
- Prenatal Phase (German)
- Beginning of Human Existence
- Personhood
Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.