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- Early development
Early development

This free course, Early development, looks at the human being in the context of an individual life cycle, examining some of the processes that contribute to the formation of a new person. After a brief discussion of historical ideas about human conception, and about contraception to the present day, we look at the cells involved in the conception and development of a new individual. Gamete production (that is, production of mature cells able to unite with another in sexual reproduction) in both men and women is introduced and the role gametes in fertility and, when things go wrong, infertility is explained. We then discuss the early development of a new individual, along with some thoughts on women's experience of pregnancy.
Course learning outcomes
After completing this course, you should be able to:
- explain the scientific basis for the main methods of contraception (Question 1)
- list the factors affecting fertilization (Questions 2 and 5)
- describe with the help of diagrams the early stages of embryonic development (Question 3)
- describe the main developmental forces at work during early embryonic development (Questions 3 and 4)
- discuss social attitudes towards fertility, and suggest how these can change with culture (including religion) and education (Questions 5 and 6).
You can start this course right now without signing-up. Click on any of the course content sections below to start at any point in this course.
If you want to be able to track your progress, earn a free Statement of Participation, and access all course quizzes and activities, sign-up.
Course content
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 What is development?
- 2 Fertilization
- 3 Small beginnings – the first two weeks
- 4 A new life
- 5 Questions for course
- Conclusion
- Keep on learning
- References
- Acknowledgements
- This site has Copy Reuse Tracking enabled - see our FAQs for more information.
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About this free course
20 hours study
Level 2: Intermediate
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