Inner cell mass

The cluster of cells inside a mammalian blastocyst that gives rise to the embryo proper and some extraembryonic tissues. It is also called the embryoblast.

Blastocyst: An early mammalian embryo consisting of an outer cell layer, a fluid-filled cavity, and an inner cell mass. The inner cell mass occupies one pole of this developmental stage.
Morula: A compact ball of cells formed by cleavage divisions before a mammalian embryo becomes a blastocyst. The inner cell mass emerges as the morula develops a cavity and segregated cell populations.
Embryonic stem cell: A pluripotent cell line derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. Its derivation turns inner cell mass cells into a renewable research resource.
Martin Evans: A British scientist who helped derive mouse embryonic stem cells from early embryos. His work established a major experimental use for cells originating in the inner cell mass.
Epiblast: The embryonic cell layer that forms the embryo proper and contributes to several extraembryonic tissues. Most inner cell mass cells become epiblast during early lineage segregation.
Blastocoel: The fluid-filled cavity inside a blastocyst. It separates the inner cell mass from much of the outer trophectoderm.
Pluripotency: The capacity of a cell to generate nearly all cell types of the body. Inner cell mass cells contain pluripotent cells before lineage commitment narrows their potential.
Matthew Kaufman: A British embryologist who co-developed methods for deriving mouse embryonic stem cells. His collaboration with Martin Evans connected inner cell mass biology to stem-cell culture.
Primitive endoderm: An early embryonic lineage that forms the endodermal lining of the yolk sac. A subset of inner cell mass cells differentiates into this lineage.
Blastomere: A cell produced by cleavage divisions of a fertilized egg. Blastomeres contribute to the cell populations that segregate into the inner cell mass and trophectoderm.

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