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Front and back

At six days old, the embryo, now called a blastocyst, consists of only a few hundred cells. But these cells have started to organise themselves - those on the inside will eventually grow into the fetus and those on the outside into the placenta. The future placental cells burrow their way into the side of the womb. The cells closest to the placenta will eventually become the front of the body.

Blastocyst showing inner cell mass (blue).
Blastocyst showing inner cell mass (blue).
Alan Handyside/Wellcome Photo Library

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