fetal period
28.3 Fetal Development The fetal period lasts from the ninth week of development until birth. During this period, male and female gonads differentiate. The fetal circulatory system becomes much more specialized and efficient than its embryonic counterpart. It includes three shuntsthe ductus venosus, the foramen ovale, and the ductus arteriosusthat enable it to bypass the semifunctional liver and pulmonary circuit until after childbirth. The brain continues to grow and its structures differentiate. Facial features develop, the body elongates, and the skeleton ossifies. In the womb, the developing fetus moves, blinks, practices sucking, and circulates amniotic fluid. The fetus grows from an embryo measuring approximately 3.3 cm 1.3 in and weighing 7 g 0.25 oz to an infant measuring approximately 51 cm 20 in and weighing an average of approximately 3.4 kg 7.5 lbs . Embryonic organ structures that were primitive and nonfunctional develop to the point that the newborn can survive in the outside world.