1st trimester development-teratogen

[SaintJude]

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What are some of the major development that occur during the 1st trimester?
I'll start
1.) organ systems appear

I keep on getting MCAT questions related to what effect a teratogen would have on a child in it's first trimester...

 

[MedPR]

What are some of the major development that occur during the 1st trimester?
I'll start
1.) organ systems appear

I keep on getting MCAT questions related to what effect a teratogen would have on a child in it's first trimester...

Really? I haven't gotten any and I probably wouldn't be able to answer one either.

You might want to make a list that is a bit more specific, though.

For instance, the neural tube closes in the first few weeks.

 

[SaintJude]

Nvm, I found the section in my Kaplan book on this:

1st semester:
Major organs begin to develop
Fetal circulation begins
Cartilaginous skeleton begins to harden into bone
Neural tube closes (failure of this results in spina bifida)

2nd trimester: Can Ignore for MCAT

3rd trimester:
Rapid brain growth
Passive immunity conferred to fetus (antibodies are transported from mom to fetus)

Question that was related to this (that will be easy to answer now)

Thalidomide exerts its effect during the 1st trimester of human pregnancy. It is during this period that:
A. organ systems appear
B. organ systems mature
C. fetal circulation ceases
D. rapid brain growth occurs

 

[chiddler]

I wasn't aware we had to know these.

🙁

 

[ljc]

Kaplan seems to love fetal development questions, while in my experience the other prep companies and AAMC don't generally focus on them. I remember running into two discrete questions on Kaplan about the functions of the "foramen ovale" and "ductus arteriosus." Nothing even close to this specific has popped up anywhere else though.