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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 22 19 59
3-2 6 16 14 11 3 73
4 7 27 55 23 18 261
5a-1 8 14 78 37 25 482
5a-2 9 11 42 30 7 205
5b 8 16 98 41 18 461
5c 9 30 139 52 21 627
6 10 32 50 75 57 262
7 8 43 100 89 50 531
8 5 0 110 66 29 486
9 7 13 152 165 69 1,033
10 2 17 170 185 185 1,193
11 3 40 137 265 191 1,226
12 3 10 146 341 222 1,634
13 4 20 247 361 231 2,890
14 14 15 108 506 366 2,177
15 6 5 138 482 217 1,905
16 17 10 274 854 480 4,546
17 13 9 187 724 261 2,491
18 15 8 147 834 367 2,321
19 12 0 131 860 278 2,878
20 24 2 199 926 288 3,468
21 10 3 195 845 179 3,340
22 11 0 203 1,196 397 4,093
23 22 37 209 1,307 426 4,440
Total 252 587 3,347 4,416 4,416 43,108

See the Living Embryo in Action at ehd.org

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Top Search Terms

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notochord 501 sympathetic trunk 285
aorta 490 sulcus limitans 276
surface ectoderm 351 pericardial cavity 266
subarachnoid space 332 rhombencoel (fourth ventricle) 265
dorsal aorta 327 peritoneal cavity 251