Abstract
Growth and development of the mammalian embryo and fetus is a highly complicated sequence of events whereby a single cell zygote develops into a complex yet organized, multicellular, multisystem, fully developed animal. In mammals as in many other species, the major part of the process occurs during intrauterine life. In some organs and tissues it continues even after birth. Embryonic growth and development is controlled by two major factors, namely: (i) the genetic factors as determined by the embryonic or fetal genome, and (ii) the epigenetic or environmental factors — maternal or fetal factors that alter the expression of the embryonic or fetal genome. The relative importance of these two for the size and maturity of the infant at birth is still debated.(1) Recent studies into the control of fetal growth appear to suggest that the genome regulates the growth and development of the embryo and fetus in a predetermined pathway in which specific genes are turned on and off at specific stages of embryonic and fetal development, and that the epigenetic factors influence growth by their effect on this normal pattern of genetic expression.
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© 1989 The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
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Han, V.K.M. (1989). Genetic mechanisms of regulation of fetal growth. In: Sharp, F., Fraser, R.B., Milner, R.D.B. (eds) Fetal Growth. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1707-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1707-0_7
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-1709-4
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