THE USE OF WHOLE-EMBRYO CULTURE TO ELUCIDATE TERATOGENIC MECHANISMS

In the overview presented, only selected examples for the applicabilit y of whole embryo culture, and a few examples for its use and possible misuse, are mentioned. In general, the system has proved suitable for elucidating mechanisms involved in abnormal development at this embry onic stage. However, it should be remembered that only a small window of prenatal development can be judged with this technique, and that th e system is not well suited for elucidating many special effects and a bnormalities induced at later stages of development. For this reason, no single in vitro system is suitable to study all kinds of problems i n prenatal biology or toxicology. As emphasized before, the real signi ficance of the whole embryo culture technique rests on the variety of methodological possibilities that can be modified by any creative scie ntist. In connection with in vivo and appropriate pharmacokinetic stud ies, this system will play an important role in the field of developme ntal biology and toxicology in the future.