The urethral plate - does it grow into the genital tubercle or within it?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the urethral plate grows into the genital tubercle or develops within it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rat embryos were examined at 11-21 days of gestation and compared with available human embryo sections. Rat embryos were examined by a combination of light microscopy, dissection, serial histological section and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In rat embryos the urethral plate extended to the tip of the genital tubercle from the earliest stages of genital tubercle development. The plate formed from adherence in the sagittal plane of the inner walls of the primitive cloacal cavity. The urethral plate continued to extend to the tip of the genital tuberc..