Development of the embryonic chick wing bud from stage 24 to stage 32

If a graft is placed in an early chick wing bud, the location of the graft after several days of further development cannot be predicted solely from the rate of proximal-distal outgrowth. The movement of the graft depends on the rate of outgrowth of the wing but also on morphogenetic tissue movements intrinsic to the wing and on accommodation to the growth and morphogenetic movements of the body of the embryo. Numerous experiments have been reported in which tissue grafted into ectopic sites in the wing causes abnormal wing development. These experiments have been discussed in terms of pattern formation or positional information. However, until the movement of wing tissue during normal development is understood, it cannot be known in what way the development of grafts placed in ectopic sites is abnormal. Previous experiments have demonstrated that carbon particles placed in the wing move in the same manner as grafts of wing mesenchyme, but the carbon particles do not affect normal wing development. Carbon particles were placed in the wing, dorsal to the base of the wing, and cranial and caudal to the wing, to plot the expected movement of a graft and to discover how this movement can be predicted from the tissue movements at the base of the wing. It is concluded that three tissue movements are responsible for the movement of a graft. These are outgrowth at a rate determined by the rate of cell division, formation of the shoulder through caudal movement of the tissues cranial to the wing, and ventral movement of prospective flank ventral to somite 19. These three tissue movements and their influence on normal wing development are discussed.