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| ==Origin== | | ==Origin== |
− | [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from [[Latin]], act of bearing young, [[offspring]]; akin to Latin ''fetus'' newly delivered, fruitful | + | [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], from [[Latin]], act of bearing young, [[offspring]]; akin to Latin ''fetus'' newly delivered, fruitful |
− | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century] | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century] |
| ==Definitions== | | ==Definitions== |
− | *1: an unborn or unhatched [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate vertebrate] especially after [[attaining]] the basic structural plan of its kind; specifically : a developing [[human]] from usually two months after [[conception]] to [[birth]] | + | *1: an unborn or unhatched [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate vertebrate] especially after [[attaining]] the basic structural plan of its kind; specifically : a developing [[human]] from usually two months after [[conception]] to [[birth]] |
| ==Description== | | ==Description== |
| A '''fetus''' also spelled ''foetus'' or, archaically, ''faetus'', is the term used to refer to a prenatal [[mammal]] or other viviparous vertebrate between its [[embryonic]] state and its birth. The 2008 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines it as the "[u]nborn young of any vertebrate, particularly mammals, after it has acquired its basic form." | | A '''fetus''' also spelled ''foetus'' or, archaically, ''faetus'', is the term used to refer to a prenatal [[mammal]] or other viviparous vertebrate between its [[embryonic]] state and its birth. The 2008 Britannica Concise Encyclopedia defines it as the "[u]nborn young of any vertebrate, particularly mammals, after it has acquired its basic form." |
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− | In humans, the fetal stage of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenatal_development prenatal development] tends to be taken as beginning at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestational_age gestational age] of eleven weeks, i.e. nine weeks after fertilization. In [[biological]] terms, however, prenatal development is a [[continuum]], with no clear defining feature distinguishing an [[embryo]] from a ''fetus''. The use of the term "fetus" generally implies that a mammalian embryo has developed to the point of being recognizable as belonging to its own [[species]]; this is the point usually taken to be the ninth week after [[fertilization]]. A fetus is also characterized by the [[presence]] of all the major body organs, though they will not yet be fully developed and [[functional]] and some not yet situated in their final [[anatomical]] location.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus] | + | In humans, the fetal stage of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenatal_development prenatal development] tends to be taken as beginning at the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestational_age gestational age] of eleven weeks, i.e. nine weeks after fertilization. In [[biological]] terms, however, prenatal development is a [[continuum]], with no clear defining feature distinguishing an [[embryo]] from a ''fetus''. The use of the term "fetus" generally implies that a mammalian embryo has developed to the point of being recognizable as belonging to its own [[species]]; this is the point usually taken to be the ninth week after [[fertilization]]. A fetus is also characterized by the [[presence]] of all the major body organs, though they will not yet be fully developed and [[functional]] and some not yet situated in their final [[anatomical]] location.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus] |
| ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| *'''''[[Embryo]]''''' | | *'''''[[Embryo]]''''' |
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| [[Category: Biology]] | | [[Category: Biology]] |