Yolk plug

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/yolk-plug

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Not applicable (biological structure, not a species)
2. What is the habitat?Internal to amphibian embryos during gastrulation and early organogenesis
3. Why does the yolk plug stay on the embryo at first?It stays because the embryo is still forming its main layers. The plug shows that the embryo is developing correctly.
4. How does the yolk plug disappear?The outer skin cells spread over the plug and pull it inside. This movement is called epiboly and helps close the embryo’s opening.

Endodermal Cells: Cells originating from the endoderm germ layer, typically forming the lining of the digestive tract and associated organs.
Dorsal Lip of the Blastopore: A critical signaling region during gastrulation where mesoderm and endoderm involute into the embryo.
Epiboly: A process of spreading and thinning of the ectoderm to envelop the underlying germ layers during embryonic development.