The septum transversum is a thick mass of cranial mesenchyme, formed in the embryo, that gives rise to parts of the thoracic diaphragm and the ventral mesentery of the foregut in the developed human being and other mammals.

[1] During craniocaudal folding, it assumes a position cranial to the developing heart at the level of the cervical vertebrae.

They thus give rise to the motor and sensory innervation of the muscular diaphragm by the phrenic nerve.

[3] The caudal part of the septum transversum is invaded by the hepatic diverticulum which divides within it to form the liver and thus gives rise to the ventral mesentery of the foregut, which in turn is the precursor of the lesser omentum, the visceral peritoneum of the liver and the falciform ligament.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), BMP-4 and BMP-7 produced from the septum transversum join fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signals from the cardiac mesoderm induce part of the foregut to differentiate towards a hepatic fate.