The contents of the uterus is called a fetus when the embryo reaches week eight of development. ("Fetus" is the Latin word for "young one" or "offspring.")

Everything that will be found in a fully developed adult is now present. Elbows and fingers become evident.  The heart has been beating for more than a month, the stomach produces digestive juices and the kidneys have begun to function. Forty muscle sets begin to operate in conjunction with the nervous system.

The fetus' body responds to touch and the vertebrae in the neck can bend; the trunk is able to straighten.  However, the woman carrying the fetus will not be able to feel movement until the fourth or fifth month. 

In other words, the fetus feels the mother, but the mother doesn't feel the fetus.

For more fetal development pictures, see:

• Fetal development at 12 weeks
• Fetal development at 16 weeks
• Fetal development at 22 weeks

Photo copyright (c) Zrodlo Foundation, Krakow, Poland