Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: last-clear-chance doctrine
An embryo is a developing animal that has not yet been born or hatched. In humans, an embryo is the stage of development from conception until the organs start to form, which is usually around the eighth week of pregnancy. Before this stage, it is called a zygote. In some religious beliefs, an embryo is considered to have a soul after a certain amount of time has passed since conception.
An embryo is a developing but unborn or unhatched animal. In humans, it refers to the unborn human from conception until the development of organs, which is usually about the eighth week of pregnancy. It is different from a fetus, which is a developing human from the eighth week of pregnancy until birth.
There are two types of human embryos recognized in ecclesiastical law:
For example, a human embryo at six weeks of gestation is considered an embryo because it has not yet developed all of its organs. However, a human fetus at 20 weeks of gestation is not an embryo because it has already developed all of its organs and is in the fetal stage of development.