Laboratory Studies of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos: Guide & Atlas of Descriptive & Experimental Development (8th Edition) [Paperback]

Gary C. Schoenwolf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0138574340 | ISBN-13: 978-0138574345 | Edition: 8

For upper-level undergraduate/graduate-level courses in Developmental Biology, Embryology, Cell and Developmental Biology in Biology, Zoology, and Cell/Developmental Biology departments. Laboratory Studies is the most comprehensive laboratory guide available in the field of developmental biology and embryology, and is written to allow students to study material independently--without the need for supplemental materials. It is the only text/manual to integrate a laboratory--combining descriptive and experimental studies on living embryos--with a complete atlas of embryonic development viewed from the most technologically enhanced viewpoints. It features broad coverage (sea urchin, frog, chick, mouse, and pig--all popular educational and research models) and is the only guide to provide detailed descriptions of a wide-range of developing stages.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The only text to integrate a comprehensive laboratory to combine descriptive and experimental studies, with a complete atlas of embryonic development; it also includes detailed instructions for conducting experiments on living embryos. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Preface

Five major changes have been made in the eighth edition. First, a new chapter (Chapter 4) has been added on the development of the mouse embryo. With the advent of modern techniques in molecular genetics, the mouse embryo has become an important model system for analyzing development. Virtually any desired gene can now be mutated in the mouse embryo, and the effects of its over expression or under expression can be readily studied. Additionally, recent advances in whole-embryo Culture and techniques of experimental embryology have further increased the importance of the mouse embryo to developmental biologists. With this new chapter, we have added 69 photographs (Photos 4.14.69), 2 line drawings (Figs. 4.1 and 4.2), and 2 experimental exercises (Exercises 4.1 and 4.2).

Second, all images have been digitally processed. This was done to improve quality, clarity, ascetics, and ease of viewing. All illustrations have been relabeled and layout has been improved, with illustrations from each chapter grouped together within the relevant chapter rather than at the back of the book in a separate atlas. This should help the student find and learn the material quicker. Aside from the new illustrations added in Chapter 4, 28 additional illustrations (mostly scanning electron micrographs) have been included in Chapters 2 and 3, increasing the visual impact and depth of the manual. A new numbering scheme has been used for all illustrations. Both photographs and line drawings are now numbered according to chapter number (1-6) followed by a decimal point and the number of the illustration in sequence. Photographs are referred to as "Photos" and line drawings as "Figs."

Third, the layout of the text was also done digitally. In doing this, the text was reordered into 6 chapters, placed into two-column format, and updated, and the flow from topic to topic has been simplified.

Fourth, all exercises are now grouped together in Chapter 6, along with additional hands-on studies. Seven new advanced hands-on studies have been added, covering the cutting of frozen sections, in situ hybridization (plus 12 new illustrations), chick New whole-embryo culture, dye injections for tracking cell movements, BrdU labeling to study cell proliferation, TUNEL labeling to study cell death (apoptosis), and mouse whole-embryo culture. With the addition of 2 exercises on early mouse embryos, Chapter 6 now contains 22 exercises. These exercises allow students to gain some hands-on experience with, and deeper appreciation for, living embryos and the dynamic events underlying embryogenesis.

Instructors may choose to have students do all the exercises or only selected ones. Additionally, instructors may choose to do all or some of the exercises as demonstrations with various degrees of student participation. Furthermore, students may consider doing selected exercises as independent study projects. It is difficult to schedule experiments in a typical quarter or semester course format when embryos develop over hours or days, and not all experiments work every time. However, the pedagogic value of working with living embryos far outweighs the scheduling difficulties. Also, although sometimes experiments will fail, a failed experiment can often be more instructive than a successful one, leading to subsequent inquiry into what went wrong.

Fifth, a glossary has been added. This will help students find definitions quickly, facilitating their learning of important terms and concepts.

This edition has been written to allow students to start their laboratory studies with any of the organisms included, depending on the instructor's preference. However, we do recommend that students study the chick embryo prior to studying the mouse embryo; this will facilitate their understanding of the "inverted" U-shaped mouse blastoderm as compared to the flat chick blastoderm. Orientation illustrations ("orientators") are placed with photographs to indicate the levels of the sections, slices, or fractures illustrated. Unfortunately, it is not possible to indicate the level of every section shown in the photographs: sections are closely spaced and photographs are shown at a much higher magnification than are the orientators; thus, insufficient room is available to demarcate every section.

In closing, let me encourage both faculty and students to send their comments about this manual to me. Each new edition represents a stage in the manual's evolution (see History), a stage that is largely determined by the comments of users. To facilitate communication, you can contact me at the following Email address: [e-mail].

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Benjamin Cummings; 8 edition (June 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0138574340
• ISBN-13: 978-0138574345
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,627,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Embryology Lab Instructor's Comments, April 28, 2000

By 

Michelle (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laboratory Studies of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos: Guide and Atlas of Descriptive and Experimental Development (Paperback)

I have used this book in my course for four years. Typically one-hundred students per year are enrolled in my course. The quality of the photomicrographs is excellent. My only criticisms of the micrographs are that 1.) The sequence of the photomicrographs would be enhanced if they were arranged in a developmental sequence. Presently, the student must flip pages constantly to view all slides relevant to a particular developmental stage. 2.) There are not enough sagittal sections of the chick embryos. 3.) 96 hour chick embryos, instead of pig embryos might be an improvement. The text is good, although not quite as thorough as the Matthews lab manual was.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lab Guide, October 3, 2005

By 

S. R. Shirley (Pullman, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Laboratory Studies of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos: Guide & Atlas of Descriptive & Experimental Development (8th Edition) (Paperback)

The lab guide is very helpful for the lab. It was very specific and detailed.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent manual for teaching decriptive embryology, May 1, 2001

By 

rasheed a.a.rasheed (Al-Ain, Al-Ain United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laboratory Studies of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos: Guide & Atlas of Descriptive & Experimental Development (8th Edition) (Paperback)

I witnessed the birth of the first edition of this book when I was still a college student, and have seen its transformation to suit the needs of each new era. The book offers fundamental principles in descriptive embryology. I hoped to see more on the expperimental aspect of the subject. I also wished to see the embryology of more of the animal phyla (eg. fruit fly, zebra fish) included.