embryo

embryo definition - medical

em·bry·o (ĕmˈbrē-ōˌ)

noun pl. em·bry·os
  1. An organism in its early stages of development, especially before it has reached a distinctively recognizable form.
  2. An organism at any time before full development, birth, or hatching.
  3. The fertilized egg of a vertebrate animal following cleavage.
  4. In humans, the prefetal product of conception from implantation through the eighth week of development.

(click for a larger image)

embryo

Clockwise from top left: human embryo at five, seven, and eight weeks of development

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.