I am currently reviewing this part of developmental biology and decided to look it up.
The term inducer is referred to a group of organizing cells that secrete signals for the purpose of influencing the developing cell to become a particular cell type. The word inducer can be used to describe the cell secreting the signals as well as the chemicals themselves that are being sent out. The cell that is induced is called a responder, and in order for it to be induced, it must be competent, or be able to respond to the inducing signal.
Morphogens are molecules that cause determination of cells. Morphogens work by setting up a gradient. Locations closer to the origin place of the morphogens will be exposed to higher concentrations, while the cells which are located further away will have less exposure. The different combinations of the morphogen exposure will set up different pathways for the differentiation of specific cell types.
