Polyhex
blastocyst
The blastocyst at 5 days post egg retrieval. The darker inner mass at 5-6 o'clock becomes the embryo. The rest of the cells become the placenta. The shell around the edges of the blastocyst is the hard zona that the blast has to hatch out of, and at 10 o'clock you can see that the blast has started hatching. The whole blast squeezes out a tiny hole in the shell. I love this photo because it's so clear you can see the nucleii of individual cells.
Update: this blastocyst is now Killian! Baby's first photo.
blastocyst
The blastocyst at 5 days post egg retrieval. The darker inner mass at 5-6 o'clock becomes the embryo. The rest of the cells become the placenta. The shell around the edges of the blastocyst is the hard zona that the blast has to hatch out of, and at 10 o'clock you can see that the blast has started hatching. The whole blast squeezes out a tiny hole in the shell. I love this photo because it's so clear you can see the nucleii of individual cells.
Update: this blastocyst is now Killian! Baby's first photo.