Practice question

Morphogenesis encompasses cellular behaviors that generate ordered form and architecture. During gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis, cells migrate via chemotaxis guided by guidance cues, change shape through actin cytoskeleton and apical constriction, proliferate, and undergo programmed apoptosis to sculpt structures. Molecular drivers include cadherin-mediated adhesion, integrin matrix interactions, and signaling by BMP, Wnt, and Hedgehog coordinating cytoskeletal dynamics. This process transforms flat epithelial sheets into tubes, folds, branches. Differentiation provides cell identity while morphogenesis arranges cells into functional three-dimensional organization essential for organ patterning and body plan establishment.