[To live or to die, an embryonic dilemma].
The development and formation of an organ needs both cell proliferation and cell death. It is commonly possible to decipher three types of basic cell death: 1) the so-called morphogenetic cell death (an example is the formation of the digits); 2) the histogenetic cell death like the apoptotic processes taking place in the spinal cord and allowing to regulate the number of motoneurons according to their targets; and 3) the phylogenetic cell death in which vestigial structures are selectively removed (e.g. destruction of the pronephros or removal of the tail in the anuran larva).
Catala
M
M
Faculté de médecine Pitié-Salpêtrière, CNRS UMR 7000 et université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, 105, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris cedex 13, France. catala@ext.jussieu.fr
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D016923:Cell Death; D002455:Cell Division; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005313:Fetal Death; D009024:Morphogenesis; D010802:Phylogeny; D013116:Spinal Cord