Axial rotation of murine embryos, a study of asymmetric mitotic activity in the neural tube of somite stages.

Axial rotation is an important event during a certain period of development of Amniote embryos. In murine embryos a sharp lordosis changes into a kyphosis. The result is the typical fetal position. In this study a temporal and topological relation is found between an asymmetric mitotic activity in the neural tube and the rotation process. The mitotic asymmetry is lost when rotation is completed. A causal relationship between mitotic activity and rotation is postulated.