This review will explore examples from several vertebrate model organisms and include discussions of the role of fibroblast growth factors (FGF) signaling in regulating the establishment of the mesoderm, neural patterning, morphogenesis, myogenesis, limb development and the establishment of right-left asymmetry. The FGF represent one of the relatively few families of extracellular signaling peptides that have been shown in recent decades to be key regulators of metazoan development. FGFs are required for multiple processes in both protostome and deuterostome groups. Given the wide range of...