An internal pocketing of pharyngeal endoderm that contacts a region of ectoderm (a pharyngeal cleft) and interdigitates in the anterior and posterior directions with the pharyngeal arches. [ ZFA:0001106 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23020903 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6601-2165 ]
Synonyms: branchial pouch
Term information
- EFO:0003627
- EMAPA:32752
- EHDAA:1086
- TAO:0001106
- FMA:293063
- SCTID:34674002
- NCIT:C34252
- Wikipedia:Pharyngeal_pouch_(embryology)
- ZFA:0001106
- EHDAA:1669
- EHDAA:579
- VHOG:0001203
- XAO:0000282
- AAO:0011113
- EHDAA:617
efo_slim, pheno_slim, vertebrate_core
The pouches are polarized structures. For example, whereas the rostral half of each pouch expresses Bmp-7, the caudal half expresses FGF-8 and the dorsal aspect of each pouch is marked via its expression of Pax-1. each pouch has an individual sense of identity. Shh expression is a prominent early feature of the caudal endoderm of the second arch, and individual pouches mark the anterior limits of expression of Hox genes within the pharyngeal endoderm; Hox-a2 has a rostral boundary at the second pouch, Hox-a3 at the third pouch and Hox-a4 at the most caudal pouch[PMID:16313389]