Splanchnic mesoderm/mesenchyme contributes to which structures?

Splanchnic mesoderm/mesenchyme contributes to which structures?

• A. Musculature, connective tissue, and other wall layers
• B. Epithelium and glands
• C. Nervous tissue
• D. Blood vessels

Answer: (D)

Splanchnic (visceral) mesoderm wraps around the gut tube and forms the vascular and wall-supporting tissues of the digestive tract. Its derivatives include the endothelium and smooth muscle of blood vessels, as well as the connective tissue and smooth muscle that make up the gut wall. Because blood vessels are a direct product of this mesodermal layer, they embody the structures derived from splanchnic mesoderm. In contrast, the gut epithelium and glands come from endoderm, and the gut’s nervous tissue largely arises from neural crest cells, not from splanchnic mesoderm.

Splanchnic (visceral) mesoderm wraps around the gut tube and forms the vascular and wall-supporting tissues of the digestive tract. Its derivatives include the endothelium and smooth muscle of blood vessels, as well as the connective tissue and smooth muscle that make up the gut wall. Because blood vessels are a direct product of this mesodermal layer, they embody the structures derived from splanchnic mesoderm. In contrast, the gut epithelium and glands come from endoderm, and the gut’s nervous tissue largely arises from neural crest cells, not from splanchnic mesoderm.