The rest of the blood brought by the vitelline arteries finds its way into the lateral portions of a venous trunk bounding the vascular area, which is known as the sinus terminalis, S.T., and there divides on each side into two streams. Of these, the two which, one on either side, flow backward, meet at a point about opposite to the tail of the embryo, and are conveyed along a distinct vein which, running straight forward parallel to the axis of the embryo, empties itself into the left vitelline vein. The two forward streams reaching a gap in the front part of the sinus terminalis fall into either one, or in some cases two veins, which run straight backwards parallel to the axis of the embryo, and so reach the roots of the heart. When one such vein only is present it joins the left vitelline trunk; where there are two they join the left and right vitelline trunks respectively. The left vein is always considerably larger than the right; and the latter when present rapidly gets smaller and speedily disappears. After the third day, although the vascular area goes on increasing in size until it finally all but encompasses the yolk, the prominence of the sinus terminalis becomes less and less.
The fœtal membranes and the yolk-sack may conveniently be treated of together in the description of their later changes and final fate.
On the sixth and seventh days they exhibit changes of great importance.
The amnion, at its complete closure on the fourth day, very closely invested the body of the chick: the true cavity of the amnion was then therefore very small. On the fifth day fluid begins to collect in the cavity, and raises the membrane of the amnion to some distance from the embryo. The cavity becomes still larger by the sixth day, and on the seventh day is of very considerable dimensions, the fluid increasing with it. On the sixth day Von Baer observed movements of the embryo, chiefly of the limbs; he attributes them to the stimulation of the cold air on opening the egg. By the seventh day very obvious movements begin to appear in the amnion itself; slow vermicular contractions creeping rhythmically over it. The amnion in fact begins to pulsate slowly and rhythmically, and by its pulsation the embryo is rocked to and fro in the egg. This pulsation is probably due to the contraction of involuntary muscular fibres, which seem to be present in the attenuated portion of the mesoblast, forming part of the amniotic fold. Similar movements are also seen in the allantois at a considerably later period.
The growth of the allantois has been very rapid, and it forms a flattened bag, covering the right side of the embryo, and rapidly spreading out in all directions between the primitive folds of the amnion, that is, between the amnion proper and the false amnion or serous envelope. It is filled with fluid, so that in spite of its flattened form its opposite walls are distinctly separated from each other.
The vascular area has become still further extended than on the fifth day, but with a corresponding loss in the definite character of its blood-vessels. The sinus terminalis has indeed by the end of the seventh day lost all its previous distinctness; and the vessels which brought back the blood from it to the heart are no longer to be seen.
Both the vitelline arteries and veins now pass to and from the body of the chick as single trunks, assuming more and more the appearance of being merely branches of the mesenteric vessels.
The yolk is still more fluid than on the previous day, and its bulk has (according to von Baer) increased. This can only be due to its absorbing the white of the egg, which indeed is diminishing rapidly.
During the eighth, ninth, and tenth days, the amnion does not undergo any very important changes. Its cavity is still filled with fluid, and on the eighth day its pulsations are at their height, henceforward diminishing in intensity.
The splitting of the mesoblast has now extended to the outer limit of the vascular area, i.e. over about three-quarters of the yolk-sack. The somatopleure at this point is continuous (as can be easily seen by reference to [fig. 121]) with the original outer fold of the amnion. It thus comes about that the further splitting of the mesoblast merely enlarges the cavity in which the allantois lies. The growth of this organ keeps pace with that of the cavity in which it is placed. Spread out over the greater part of the yolk-sack as a flattened bag filled with fluid, it now serves as the chief organ of respiration. It is indeed very vascular and a marked difference may be observed between the colour of the blood in the outgoing and the returning vessels.