Morphogenesis of the ultimobranchial body and its colonizing cells in the chick embryo.

The development of the ultimobranchial body and its colonizing cells was studied in chick embryos in Hamburger-Hamilton's stages 21 to 46. The most significant observations included the following: 1.-The ultimobranchial body is a separate morphological entity with particular characteristics distinguishing it from the fourth pharyngeal pouch in all developmental stages. 2.-The fifth pharyngeobranchial ducts disappear in Hamburger-Hamilton's stage 27. 3.-From Hamburger-Hamilton's stage 27 on, the left ultimobranchial body is in contact with the caudal end of the left parathyroid IV primordium. 4.-The group made up of the ultimobranchial body and its colonizing cells at no time fuses with the thyroid gland.