One of the three tissue layers in the embryo of a metazoan animal. Through development, it will produce the epidermis (skin) and nervous system of the adult
the outer of the three cell layers which form, as the clump of early embryonic cells begins to differentiate The ectoderm will form the epidermis of the skin and the nervous system The other two layers are the mesoderm and the endoderm
the outermost layer of cells, which becomes the nervous system, sensory receptors (ears, nose, and eyes, for example), and skin parts (hair and nails, for example) (See 101)
The germ layer in an embryo that gives rise to the epidermis and nervous system In many cases, as in vertebrates, an anterior and posterior invagination of ectoderm gives rise to the stomodeum and proctodeum, respectively
The external skin or outer layer of an animal or plant, this being formed in an animal from the epiblast
The primary germ layer that gives rise to the nervous system and the epidermis of skin and its derivatives