In amniote animal embryology, the epiblast is one of two distinct layers arising from the inner cell mass in the mammalian blastocyst or from the blastodisc in reptiles and birds. It derives the embryo proper through its differentiation into the three primary germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, during gastrulation. The amnionic ectoderm and extraembryonic mesoderm also originate from the epiblast.