The development of the anterior foregut of the mammalian embryo involves changes in the
behavior of both the epithelial endoderm and the adjacent mesoderm. Morphogenetic
processes that occur include the extrusion of midline notochord cells from the epithelial
definitive endoderm, the folding of the endoderm into a foregut tube, and the subsequent
separation of the foregut tube into trachea and esophagus. Defects in foregut
morphogenesis underlie the constellation of human birth defects known as esophageal …