Fetus

fetus, also spelled foetus, the unborn young of any vertebrate animal, particularly of a mammal, after it has attained the basic form and structure typical of its kind.

A brief treatment of the fetus follows. For more information on the human fetus, see pregnancy.

Biologists arbitrarily speak of the earliest stages of development of the fertilized egg as the embryonic period, which ends when the external form of the embryo begins to resemble clearly the newborn of the group to which it belongs. The next period, culminating in birth, is the fetal period. In human development this transition occurs in approximately the eighth week after conception. The fetal stage is characterized by increased growth and by the full development of the organ systems.

Certain genetic disorders of the human fetus may cause birth of the infant before full term. If expulsion occurs before the fetus has reached a stage of development advanced enough to allow it to live outside the womb (20 to 22 weeks), it is known as a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage. Expulsion of a dead fetus thereafter is considered a stillbirth and of a living fetus a premature birth. Postmature birth is one occurring more than three weeks beyond the expected date of delivery.

Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have enabled scientists to reconstruct the human fetal genome from genetic material isolated from maternal blood and paternal saliva. Fetal genome sequencing tools are valuable particularly in the area of prenatal diagnosis, where noninvasive testing methods, such as those based on the analysis of parental blood or saliva, could significantly reduce the risk of miscarriage associated with the collection of fetal or placental tissue in procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling.