Whole embryo culture and teratogenesis

Whole embryo culture (WEC) is under evaluation in numerous laboratories to determine the role it should play in teratogen testing. There is general agreement that its role is to complement the Segment II Teratology studies required by regulatory authorities. Currently it is used as a 'screen' in order to minimize the number of compounds used in animal tests and also to determine the mechanism(s) of teratogenesis. This brief review focuses on the study of retinoid teratogenicity in WEC in order to illustrate these points.