Visualizing Human Embryonic Development of the Heart’s Outflow Tract

Data from the Virtual Human Embryo Project, a digital image database of serially sectioned human embryos from the Carnegie collection, was used to visualize and create 3D reconstructions of multiple embryonic stages. Using these reconstructions as references, 3D morphing animations were created and compiled into a 3D interactive learning tool. This learning tool allowed the user to visualize and interact with the developing heart’s outflow tract in 3-dimensions as the embryo undergoes complex morphological changes during Carnegie Stages 13-23. A learning and teaching tool for medical students studying embryology and anatomy to quickly and easily grasp how the heart’s outflow tract develops, thereby clarifying their relationships to structures seen in adult anatomy.