4D formation of human embryonic forelimb musculature

Malcolm Logan, Susan M. Wilde, Eleanor Feneck, Timothy J. Mohun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
114 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The size, shape and insertion sites of muscles enable them to carry out their precise functions in moving and supporting the skeleton. Although forelimb anatomy iswell described, much less is known about the embryonic events that ensure individualmuscles reach theirmature form. A description of human forelimb muscle development is needed to understand the events that control normal muscle formation and to identify what events are disrupted in congenital abnormalities in which muscles fail to form normally. We provide a new, 4D anatomical characterisation of the developing human upper limbmuscles between Carnegie stages 18 and 22 using optical projection tomography. We show that muscles develop in a progressive wave, from proximal to distal and fromsuperficial to deep.We show that somemuscle bundles undergo splitting events to form individual muscles, whereas others translocate to reach their correct position within the forelimb. Finally, we show that palmaris longus fails to form from early in development. Our study reveals the timings of, and suggests mechanisms for, crucial events that enable nascent muscle bundles to reach their mature form and position within the human forelimb.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberdev194746
JournalDevelopment (Cambridge)
Volume148
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Feb 2021

Keywords

  • Human embryonic development, congenital abnormalities, upper limb, muscle development, muscle splitting

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