The outermost layer of cells in an embryo that develops into skin, nerves, and the outer parts of sense organs.
From Greek 'ekto-' (outer) + 'derma' (skin). Coined in the 1800s by embryologists studying how organisms develop from single cells, this term refers to one of three fundamental germ layers that form early in animal development.
Your entire nervous system and the outer layer of your skin came from a single layer of cells in your embryo called the ectoderm—it's like nature's most important 'seed' that grows into structures that let you think, feel, and touch the world.
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