Human Fetal growth and development upto second trimester

Scope & Objectives of the Book
This book deals with the basic understanding and mysteries of human fetal growth, development and maturation inside the mother’s womb up to the 2nd trimester.

With ever growing knowledge in the field of genetics, this book has tried to disseminate the knowledge of the impact of genetics and its factors that influence the growth and maturation of the fetus and its future implications in the individual’s health and development. Various important factors like maternal nutrition, environment of the fetus and the mother’s womb, genetics of the fetus and nutrition of the mother all helps in the production of a healthy or an unhealthy baby. The current book encompasses areas and topics pertaining to the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, biochemistry, genetics, stem cells and their regulations during the fetal growth and development, molecular biology, clinical and futuristic medicine including modern topics pertaining to clinical and surgical interventions of in utero fetal surgery and fetal cord blood transfusion and advancements in the field of neonatology. The book proposes that these modern topics will help in incorporating the students, researchers and a wide group of biomedical scientists to update their current clinical and surgical knowledge apart from their existing knowledge and thereby prompting futuristic and cutting edge research.

The two editors Prof. Niranjan Bhattacharya and Prof. Phillip Stubblefield are both stalwarts in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Stem cell and Regenerative Medicine. Prof. Niranjan Bhattacharya was the pioneer of Cord Blood Transfusion since 1999 and Prof. Stubblefield an emeritus professor of Boston University. With their varied and multidiscipline knowledge the following editors felt they could use their expertise to help in develop a book that will help in global dissemination of specialized knowledge in the field of regenerative medicine, growth and maturation, its implication from a multi-dimensional point of view and help in developing a cutting edge knowledge in the field of fetal growth and development.

This book is also dedicated to two renowned scientists in the field of Reproductive Immunology, Prof. Alan Beer and physiologist and biochemist Dr. Chameli Ganguly. The aim of this book is to currently meant to bring together embryologists, medical scientists, clinical practitioners, gynecologists, endocrinologists, reproductive and molecular biologists and geneticists and integrate and combine different knowledge and discipline to enhance the knowledge in understanding the mysteries of fetal tissue and development.

Chapters of the Book
Different chapters of this book deals with the basic medical science of the growth, development, metabolism and biological synthesis of the individual fetal organ during the development process in the mother’s womb. Studies like fetus and their origin, measurement also termed as Anthropometric measurements at various gestational age group has been mentioned in details with observational datas. Development of the fetal immune system, hematopoiesis has been described in details by eminent immunologists including a very basic, fundamental and interesting thoughts on vaccination of the unborn using tetanus toxoid used for the first time by one of the editors of this book, Prof. Niranjan Bhattacharya and Prof. K.L.Mukherjee as a safe and cheap abortifacient.

Importance of glucose uptake, fetomaternal circulation, and metabolism in Chapter No.11 as it is an important biological mechanism involving lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism for the fetus including genetic factors controlling the role of organ development and function. These all have been explained in details in the book in Chapter no.6, 7, 8 & 9. The book further deals with the intricacies of fetal protein, carbohydrate and urea synthesis like very little amount of urea is synthesized by the fetal liver which increases with the increase in gestational time. This increase in urea synthesis is although still very minute when compared to the adult liver urea synthesis. Further questions like distinguishing the different adultogenic layer in Chapter No.10 have also been detailed.

Epigenetic and genetic studies of the fetus and the fetus controlling the fetal development are discussed in Chapter no.13 whereas Chapter No.14 deals with a bio-philosophical and an extremely important ethical and debatable concept of “When does the fetus attains a person hood. Is it after the beating of the heart or after the formation of the zygote.” Questions in the form of chapters on topics like “How does the fetus survives in the mother’s womb for 9 months and why it is not rejected are highlighted with different concepts, theories, hypothesis and scientific explanations involving the laws of classical immunology. Chapter No.21 includes the maternal immune system and how it fights to ward off infections. Other chapters deal with the importance of the breast milk and its evolution and its importance during the time of pregnancy. Genetic diseases and stem cell development specific to human embryo and its development, their implications, 87 total number of human embryonic stem cell lines are derived til date, screening of 137 normal human embryonic stem cell lines, role of chemokine receptors like CCR5 are all described in details.

Further questions pertaining to how stem cells are formed and developed during the embryonic stage are explained. The mechanism and their potency in regeneration abilities and capacities. Specific organ development, maturation and function with increase in their gestational age are all discussed in details in this book at both molecular, physiological and biochemical level in details.