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The germinal stage is the first stage of fetal development that lasts eight to nine days. It begins with fertilization, and ends once implantation in the uterus forms an embryo. However, several events occur in-between.
The image offers an outline of the germinal stage throughout time.

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The initial event begins with fertilization. For a sperm to succesfully fertilize an egg, a few things must happen: First, the egg signals sperm to move toward it using chemotaxis. Then, once one sperm reaches it, sticks to it via adhesion. Meanwhile, the egg prohibits other sperm from breaking through its membrane. At this point, the head of the sperm releases enymes that break down the egg's membrane, allowing it to enter and form a zygote.
The image depicts a sperm and egg before and after fertilization.

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The single-celled zygote then proceeds with its first instances of mitosis, in which the shared nucleus of the sperm and egg split to form the first two daughter cells, and those into four, and so on. Some sixteen cells arise by day four, forming a morula.
The picture shows the zygote eventually forming a morula - a solid ball of cells.

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The morula, after five-to-seven days of fertilization, soon shifts into a blastocyst. The cells arrange themselves into two groups: the embryoblast, which is a collection of cells that will go on to form the embryo; and the trophoblast, a wall of cells that surrounds the embryoblast, and it will both consolidate the placenta and nourish the embryo.
The image shows the arrangement, as well as the blastocoele, which is full of fluid.

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Finally, the processes reaches the creation of an embryo once the blastocyst embeds itself into the innermost layer of the uterus. To do this, the trophoblast multiplies and breaks down the matrix of uterine lining, and secures itself there. This way, a mother's nutrients can reach her offspring, and nurture a new life.
The image portrays an embryo safetly attatched to the placenta.

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1)Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless Psychology. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/prenatal-development/
2)Wakim, S. (2020, June 06). 23.2: Germinal Stage. Retrieved October 24, 2020, from https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Human_Biology/Book:_Human_Biology_(Wakim_and_Grewal)/23:_Human_Growth_and_Development/23.2:_Germinal_Stage