DevBio

There's a lot of developmental biology and embryology in this block. I'm pretty weak on this stuff; I never took a course on it in undergrad. I don't particularly like developmental biology. I think its difficulty lies in the steep learning curve. Embryology has its own complicated vocabulary: syncytiotrophoblast, morula, gastrulation. There's really no a priori way of understanding what those words mean. So a lot of devbio is just getting a grasp of the terminology. It's also complicated because it requires a lot of 3 dimensional visualization to picture the developing cavities and migration of cells and folding of tissues. Very little of it is intuitive; indeed, tissues develop then involute, cavities form then disappear, structures bear little resemblance to the eventual organ they become. But there are some redeeming aspects to developmental biology. It really does give insight into anatomy, explaining the orientation, innervation, and structure of our bodies. It is also a hot topic in investigation of cell signaling, cell differentiation, and tissue biology. Lastly, embryology is actually an amazing integration of complex changes whereby two cells develop into a baby. It astounds me when I think about the intricacy and tremendousness of in utero development. I don't know how practically useful embryology is as very little diagnosis or intervention can be done on a developing embryo or fetus. But this may change in the future.