Embrionalen

Embrionalen is the definite form of the adjective embrional in Danish and Norwegian, used to describe things pertaining to an embryo or to the embryonal stage of development. The base adjective embrional comes from Latin embryo via later European languages. In biology, embrional denotes processes, tissues, and structures associated with early development before organ differentiation. The embryonal period in humans generally extends from fertilization to the end of the eighth week of gestation; during this time, cells undergo gastrulation, neurulation, and the formation of organ primordia.

In pathology and medicine, embrional is used to describe tumors or cell types that resemble embryonic tissue, such as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma or embryonal neuroblastoma. The term signals a histological similarity to embryonic tissue rather than a direct developmental origin.

The definite form embrionalen is used in Scandinavian languages to refer to "the embryonal" as a specific phase or feature, for example embrionalen utviklingen (the embryonal development) or embrionalen stamcellene (the embryonal stem cells). In English-language texts, the term is typically translated as embryonal or embryonic and used in technical contexts. The term is common in scientific writing but uncommon in casual speech.