Speaking about the embryo is inseparable from the conceptions of life and nature that culture provides. These abstractions and theories are contained in cultural narratives in which the embryo floats, like in a womb. It is impossible to talk about the embryo without recourse to such narratives and it is impossible to fully understand the ‘story’ of the embryo without taking into account that these narratives have plasticity. Editor’s note: In this article, art and science are interwoven. The author offers a lyrical discourse, a survey of the historical and academic origins of our current understanding of the human embryo. I thank the author for allowing our imposition of footnotes, in service to our diverse readership.

ABSTRACT The article provides a biodynamic account of embryology with specific focus on polarities such as the relation between the embryo and its environment and that between process and form in organ development.

ABSTRACT In the theme of ‘integration’, Konrad Obermeier reviews the process of becoming a human from the embryo, to birth, to post-natal embryo.

ABSTRACT From the perspective of the embryo, Konrad Obermeier writes about the development of the midline, the tissues that become the axial complex. The notochord develops in a context of growth differentials, Obermeier describes this beginning of the longitudinal line that leads to human verticality.

ABSTRACT This is article is a discussion of embryological development of the face and in particular the space for the eyes. The face starts out pinched between the tissue becoming the brain and the tissue becoming the heart, Konrad Obermeier examines the role of fluid dynamics as part of the forces shaping the face.

ABSTRACT Structure is a dynamic, developmental movement. An embryological perspective can contribute to our understanding of structure and can provide us with insights into the practical work of structural integration. Development and differentiation follow lawful principals and what is described in the brief article below in respect to the organization of the foot is relevant to arm or hand development as well.

Note on the vignettes heading the text sections: Blechschmidt identified and depicted a set of ?late metabolic fields? that signify biophysical forces. The employed stick figures illustrate these forces. They are actively involved in organizing the change of position, shape and structure of (biochemical) metabolic fields. They represent specific kinetics of ontogenetic developmental movements.