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The Biology
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The Virtual Human Embryo

Welcome to The Virtual Human Embryo (VHE), a 14,250-page, illustrated atlas of human embryology, which presents all 23 Carnegie Stages of development during the 8-week embryonic period.

This $3.2 million, 11-year initiative engaged a team led by Dr. Raymond F. Gasser—one of the leading embryologists of the last half century. His team created thousands of restored, digitized, and labeled serial sections from the world's largest collection of preserved human embryos. They used these serial sections to create animations, fly-throughs, and 3-D reconstructions.

The VHE is now available to researchers, educators, and students everywhere. Read More...

Start Exploring

 Click any embryo below to go to that stage.

Stage 1 Stage 1 / 1 day
Stage 2 Stage 2 / 2-3 days
Stage 3-1 Stage 3-1 / 4 days
Stage 3-2 Stage 3-2 / 4-5 days
Stage 4 Stage 4 / 6 days
Stage 5a-1 Stage 5a-1 / 7 days
Stage 5a-2 Stage 5a-2 / 8 days
Stage 5b Stage 5b / 9 days
Stage 5c Stage 5c / 12 days
Stage 6 Stage 6 / 13-17 days
Stage 7 Stage 7 / 16-19 days
Stage 8 Stage 8 / 23 days
Stage 9 Stage 9 / 25 days
Stage 10 Stage 10 / 28 days
Stage 11 Stage 11 / 29 days
Stage 12 Stage 12 / 30 days
Stage 13 Stage 13 / 32 days
Stage 14 Stage 14 / 33 days
Stage 15 Stage 15 / 36 days
Stage 16 Stage 16 / 39 days
Stage 17 Stage 17 / 41 days
Stage 18 Stage 18 / 44 days
Stage 19 Stage 19 / 45-47 days
Stage 20 Stage 20 / 49 days
Stage 21 Stage 21 / 49-52 days
Stage 22 Stage 22 / 52-55 days
Stage 23 Stage 23 / 56 days

VHE Stats and Quick Links

Carnegie
Stage		 Movies
 Figures
 Serial
Sections		 Unique
Terms		 New
Terms		 Total
Labels
2 10 78 6 12 12 26
3-1 6 79 12 24 21 59
3-2 6 16 14 11 3 73
4 7 27 55 23 18 260
5a-1 8 14 78 40 32 482
5a-2 9 11 42 34 11 205
5b 8 16 98 41 16 460
5c 9 30 139 56 29 630
6 10 32 50 79 63 263
7 8 43 100 94 57 531
8 5 0 110 70 33 486
9 7 13 152 170 84 1,033
10 2 17 170 187 187 1,193
11 3 40 137 276 203 1,232
12 3 10 146 347 230 1,634
13 4 20 247 369 247 2,895
14 14 15 108 512 379 2,174
15 6 5 138 491 239 1,905
16 17 10 274 882 525 4,532
17 13 9 187 734 281 2,491
18 15 8 147 838 379 2,295
19 12 0 131 865 297 2,855
20 24 2 199 945 325 3,450
21 10 3 195 864 214 3,329
22 11 0 203 1,211 435 4,083
23 22 37 209 1,338 495 4,430
Total 252 587 3,347 4,820 4,820 43,050

See the Living Embryo in Action at ehd.org

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notochord 500 sympathetic trunk 285
aorta 489 sulcus limitans 275
surface ectoderm 333 pericardial cavity 265
subarachnoid space 331 roof plate 249
dorsal aorta 327 peritoneal cavity 249