embryonic tissue, of which, to begin with, the whole animal consists. The cells are all living, capable of dividing and similar, but as development proceeds, they differentiate, some take on one kind of duty (function), and some another, like boys taking to different trades on leaving school, and wide differences in structure and interdependence become apparent.
Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.