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oocyte
Pronunciation (ō′ō-sīt)
- Female gamete or sex cell. When fertilized by a sperm, an oocyte is capable of developing into a new individual of the same species; during matuation, the oocyte, like the sperm, undergoes a halving of its chromosomal complement so that, at its union with the male gamete, the species number of chromosome (46 in humans) is maintained; yolk contained in the oocytes of different animal species varies greatly in amount and distribution, which influences the pattern of the cleavage divisions. See also: egg, ovum
Syn: ovocyte
[G. ōon, egg, + kytos, a hollow (cell)]
WebMD Medical Reference from "Stedman's Medical Dictionary"
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Stedman’s Medical Dictionary 28th Edition, Copyright© 2006_Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
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