BIRD

Common name: chick (chicken)

Scientific name: Gallus gallus

The chick embryo has been in use as a model since the time of Aristotle, making it one of the most exhaustively studied systems in biology. The egg's extrauterine development made it attractive in the days before surgical techniques. The chicken's regular laying cycle and the fact that fertilized eggs can be cold-stored for several weeks, temporarily freezing their development, ensures constant access to embryos. Chick embryonic development shows some similarity to that of mammals, and the flat blastodisc of the chick is morphologically similar to the human embryo at the same stage of development. The introduction of techniques for embryonic sectional trans- and explantation and the production of chick-quail chimeras has only served to add to the popularity of the chick embryo as a model system.

Chick Labs