Journal Of Embryology And Experimental Morphology

This volume summarises our present knowledge of inductive interaction during early development of various groups of chordates. Embryonic development is mainly epigenetic, that is, each embryo arises through gradual organisation and emergence of its constituent parts and not by the unfolding of preformed structures. Development as far as the full development of the 'body plan' in the embryo is described. At the beginning of development, there is only very restricted spatial diversity, but as development proceeds the interaction of the different parts leads to ever-increasing spatial complexity of the developing embryo. Interaction starts between the different cell organelles of the oocyte and the, spermatozoon; it continues without interruption between the different parts of the very early embryo and also between the different tissues and organ anlagen of the developing embryo. The new hypothesis as to the nature of the inductive interaction, which is postulated here, is in good agreement with the experimental evidence presented and opens new possibilities for fruitful research into this basic concept of embryonic development.

Morphology and Evolution of the Insect Abdomen: With Special Reference to Developmental Patterns and Their Bearings Upon Systematics focuses on the morphology and evolution of the skeletal structures of the insect abdomen and the internal reproductive system. Emphasis is placed on patterns of development and their implications for systematics. Comprised of 44 chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the principles of structural evolution, paying particular attention to morphogenetical regularities and anagenesis, heterochrony, substitution and homology, and analogy. The next section is devoted to various aspects of the insect abdomen including abdominal segmentation, appendages, and ovipositor as well as the male external genitalia, the male and female efferent duct, and the abdominal ganglia. The final section deals with the abdomen of a wide range of insect classes such as Protura, Collembola, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Homoptera, Mantodea, and Diptera. This monograph will be of interest to entomologists, physiologists, and evolutionary biologists.