File:Overview of kidney development..jpg

English: Mouse kidney development begins at E8.5 with the formation of the nephric duct primordium (blue) from the nephrogenic cord (yellow). Rostral nephric duct precursors are lost by apoptosis while caudal cells persist and grow towards the cloaca. As it extends down the trunk the nephric duct induces the formation of mesonephric tubules in the adjacent nephrogenic cord. Only the rostral mesonephric tubules become joined to the nephric duct. At E10.5, an outgrowth called the ureteric bud forms from the nephric duct near the cloaca. The ureteric bud grows into a specialized population of nephrogenic cord cells (red) called the metanephric mesenchyme. Reciprocal inductive interactions between the ureteric bud and the metanephric mesenchyme lead to repeated branching of the ureteric bud and the formation of metanephric nephrons from the metanephric mesenchyme (not shown).