Development of the Digestive Canal of the American Alligator

A detailed embryological account traces formation and histology of the digestive canal in the American alligator, from earliest foregut and blastopore stages through progressive somite-numbered embryos. The author documents fixation and staining methods, serial transverse, sagittal, and horizontal sections, and uses measured illustrations; descriptions focus on morphogenetic events — closure of the foregut, separation of notochord from entoderm, formation of the mouth and gill clefts, neurenteric canal, head cavities, and extension of the enteron into the yolk sac — while noting that derivatives such as liver, pancreas, and lungs are treated only incidentally. Histological observations at each stage record layered cell arrangements and cavity formation.