Researchers should note though that animal models have some limitations for specific aspects of human development. As most current embryology research employs only animal models, animal comparative data has also been integrated into the resource. The purpose of the online Embryology website for the last 20 years has been to deliver readily available access to human embryology from the latest current research findings extending back through key historic discoveries. The paper includes some weblinks to online resources that use Tin圜C shortening of the original web addresses. This paper will discuss the available web resources for human embryology, focussing on the human Embryology website () and a second research resource being developed by the Digital Embryology Consortium (DEC, ). Some examples of other research areas that would benefit from an improved understanding of key human developmental features are: congenital abnormalities, teratogenic effects during critical periods, stem cell differentiation, assisted reproductive technologies, and the developmental origins of heath and disease. While current medical research focusses on detailed disease genetics and molecular mechanisms, these also need be placed in the broader context of an understanding of the events in human developmental anatomy. In contrast, there exist many online resources for a range of animal developmental and disease models, although human development is generally not a focus of these sites. There has been a paucity of well-designed online material presented in a way that students and researchers can more easily understand this topic.
![48 hour chick embryo serial cross section 48 hour chick embryo serial cross section](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4043/4338752724_ffde105a07_z.jpg)
Embryology is also a medical education subject that has seen a substantial decrease in contact hours in recent years. Human embryology is a core subject for medicine and developmental biology as well as a major current research topic. This also opens the opportunity for new 3D reconstruction and virtual reality representation of these embryos. By making this histological material more widely available to researchers with new methods of analysis, a better understanding of human development can be reached. Secondly is the Digital Embryology Consortium (), an international research partnership to digitise, preserve, and make the major embryology histological collections available for researchers. The first of these is the online Embryology website () that links the human developmental timeline to historic and current research findings. This paper describes two online resources for studying human development that are unlocking these invaluable collections and providing related human developmental resources. When accessed today, these collections are still contributing to our understanding of human development.
![48 hour chick embryo serial cross section 48 hour chick embryo serial cross section](https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2015/03/chick-48hr-iii-ss-1x.jpg)
While animal models of development now have significant online resources available, the vast majority of human embryonic material is locked up in historic collections. Human embryology is a core subject for medicine and current research.