In Vivo Imaging of Chick Development
Visualizing Cell movements in living chick embryos

Early chick development filmed through a transparent window in the eggshell
using video time-lapse microscopy. Notice the tremendous growth and
formation of structures of the embryo. The embryo was incubated for 40hrs
prior to filming and the total length of the movie represents about 24 hrs
of growth with 10 minutes in between each image. (view QuickTime movie)

In this movie, the chick neural tube, which will differentiate into the
brain and spinal cord, has been filled with a fluorescent dye to label
neural crest cells which migrate into the surrounding unlabeled tissue to
form the peripheral nervous system. Notice how streams of migrating cells
form a spatial pattern. The embryo was incubated for about 40hrs prior to
filming and the total length of the movie represents 12 hrs with 4 minutes
in between each image. (view QuickTime movie)

A closer look at the movements of individual neural crest cells shows that
cells migrate with a complex set of migration behaviors, interacting with
other cells and the environment while selecting a particular migration
pathway. The embryo was incubated for about 40hrs prior to filming and the
total length of the movie represents 10hrs with 5 minutes in between each
image. (view QuickTime movie)