The document summarizes the development of the nervous system from the ectoderm. Key points include:
- The neural plate thickens to form the neural tube which will become the central nervous system. Neural crest cells emerge from the neural tube and give rise to many cell types.
- The neural tube develops flexures and subdivisions that form the ventricles of the brain. Neural tube defects can occur if the tube fails to close properly.
- In the spinal cord, the neural tube walls reorganize to form the central canal in the center and ventral and dorsal nerve roots on the outside, connected to gray matter inside. Ascending and descending tracts develop from nerve fibers.