Computerized three-dimensional analysis of the heart and great vessels in normal and holoprosencephalic human embryos.

The developing heart and great vessels undergo drastic morphogenetic changes during the embryonic period. To analyze the normal and abnormal development of these organs, it is essential to visualize their structures in three and four dimensions, including the changes occurring with time. We have reconstructed the luminal structure of the hearts and great vessels of staged human embryos from serial histological sections to demonstrate their sequential morphological changes in three dimensions.