Abstract
Measurements of O2 tension (\(P_{{O_2}}^{}\)) have been done in chicken eggs aged 1 to 6 days by means of a needle O2 electrode. The steepness of the drop in \(P_{{O_2}}^{}\) seen as the electrode is moved into the egg depends on the age of the embryo and on the site of insertion relative to the position of the vascularized portion of the yolk sac.
The steepest gradient is found when insertion is through the part of the shell membrane in direct contact with the vascular yolk sac. The minimal values of \(P_{{O_2}}^{}\) decline with increasing age up to about 4 d, where values of 0–10 torr are found. These near anoxic values disappear after the 4th day as a result of an increase in the O2 permeability of the inner shell membrane.
Observations on eggs in which a part of the shell is laquered indicate that only the fraction of the shell in direct contact with the yolk sac vessels is important to gas exchange of the four-day-old embryo.
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Lomholt, J.P. (1984). A preliminary study of local oxygen tensions inside bird eggs and gas exchange during early stages of embryonic development. In: Seymour, R.S. (eds) Respiration and metabolism of embryonic vertebrates. Perspectives in vertebrate science, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6536-2_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6536-2_20
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