Key-Notes: basic concepts in Developmental Biology

1. Introduction

These Key-Notes aim to provide the students with a summary of some basic concepts of developmental biology that are fundamental to approach the study of nervous system development. 

Development is a gradual process by which a complex multicellular organism arises from a single cell (the zygote). It involves 5 major overlapping processes: 

1. growth = increase in size
2. cell division= increase in number
3. differentiation = diversification of cell types
4. pattern formation = organization
5. morphogenesis = generation of shapes and structures