The chick embryo is used as a model organism, among others, for studies in pathophysiology and developmental biology of the heart. In shell-less culture (SC), it allows direct visualization of the embryonic and cardiovascular development and the physiological effects of cardiac function. Although it is a well-established model, a continuous visual registration of chick embryos over a longer period of development with great detail has not yet been carried out. We present here, for the first time, time-lapse movies of this development with a special emphasis on vasculogenesis over a recorded period of 9 days, beginning at 2 days of incubation. During these first 11 days, the structural formation of the cardiovascular system is accomplished (which takes &9 to 10 days). The movies depict the complex process of extraembryonic vasculogenesis that occurs …