Which Building Blocks Must Fuse to Make a Lip and Palate?
Take the reading one piece at a time. For each piece: read it once, underline the sentence that says what happens, then look up any word in the list. Tap a word to see its definition.
Piece 1 of 2
Early in week 4, five swellings of tissue surround the primitive mouth opening (the stomodeum). One frontonasal prominence sits above the mouth in the midline, a paired maxillary process sits to the left and right, and a paired mandibular process sits below and becomes the lower jaw. That is five blocks: one on top, two on the sides, two on the bottom.
Piece 2 of 2
By the end of week 4, two nasal pits form in the lower frontonasal prominence and split its edge into the inner medial nasal processes and the outer lateral nasal processes. During weeks 4 to 6 the blocks grow toward each other and fuse to close the upper lip: the two medial nasal processes merge in the middle, and on each side the maxillary process fuses with the medial nasal process. That maxillary-to-medial-nasal fusion is the event that closes the lip.
Reading the Research
- Skim the title and abstract first to get the gist.
- Circle the one sentence that states the main claim.
- Box the evidence the authors give for that claim.
- Mark one sentence that confuses you, and move on.
Now put it together: In one or two sentences, say what this whole reading is telling you about Mateo. Then go back to the lesson and fill in the guided notes.