Developmental biology / [electronic resource] Scott F. Gilbert; Michael J.F. Barresi.

Includes bibliographical references and index

Part I. Patterns and processes of becoming: a framework for understanding animal development -- 1. Making new bodies: mechanisms of developmental organization -- 2. Specifying identity: mechanisms of developmental patterning -- 3. Differential gene expression: mechanisms of cell differentiation -- 4. Cell-to-cell communication: mechanisms of morphogenesis -- 5. Stems cells: their potential and their niches -- Part II. Gametogenesis and fertilization: the circle of sex -- 6. Sex determination and gametogenesis -- 7. Fertilization: beginning a new organism -- Part III. Early development: cleavage, gastrulation, and axis formation -- 8. Rapid specification in snails and nematodes -- 9. The genetics of axis specification in Drosophila -- 10. Sea urchins and tunicates: deuterostome invertebrates -- 11. Amphibians and fish -- 12. Birds and mammals -- Part IV. Building with ectoderm: the vertebrate nervous system and epidermis -- 13. Neural tube formation and patterning -- 14. Brain growth -- 15. Neural crest cells and axonal specificity -- 16. Ectodermal placodes and the epidermis -- Part V. Building with mesoderm and endoderm: organogenesis -- 17. Paraxial mesoderm: the somites and their derivatives -- 18. Intermediate and lateral plate mesoderm: heart, blood, and kidneys -- 19. Development of the tetrapod limb -- 20. The endoderm: tubes and organs for digestion and respiration -- Part VI. Postembryonic development -- 21. Metamorphosis: the hormonal reactivation of development -- 22. Regeneration -- 23. Aging and senescence -- Part VII. Development in wider contexts -- 24. Development in health and disease: birth defects, endocrine disruptors, and cancer -- 25. Development and the environment: biotic, abiotic, and symbiotic regulation of development -- 26. Development and evolution: developmental mechanisms of evolutionary change.

This new edition keeps the excellent writing, accuracy, and enthusiasm of the Gilbert Developmental Biology textbook, streamlines it, adds electronic supplements to reinforce ideas and creates a new textbook that will meet the desires of those teaching Developmental Biology to a new generation.