Editorial: Advances in techniques for measurement and assessment of physiological processes in developing animals

Abstract

Developmental Physiology can be broadly defined as the field of science aiming to understand the physiological processes shaping a fertilized egg of a species into a wellstructured and functional multi-cellular organism. Animal studies are a major part of such investigations, during which animal embryos and newly born or newly hatched animals are examined to understand complex developmental processes. At the organ level, these examinations include morphological assessments for structural analysis, and physiological assessments for functional analysis of developing organs/systems, whereas at cell/tissue level, relevant analyses are carried out with molecular biology and biochemistry assays. Precise measurement of physiological parameters is required for understanding developmental processes of specific organs and organ systems in such examinations. Even though, there is a growing interest from the Developmental Biology community for such experimental techniques, most of these applications have been developed for specialized research labs and are not readily available for other interested researchers. This Research Topic aimed to present novel experimental techniques on developing animals for adaptation of useful techniques by other researchers, advancing the field of Developmental Physiology.