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ovum

ovum

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

ovum , in biology, specialized plant or animal sex cell, also called the egg, or egg cell. It is the female sex cell, or female gamete; the male gamete is the sperm . The study of the ovum is included in the science of embryology. The development of a new individual from an unfertilized ovum is called parthenogenesis .

In higher animals the ovum differs from the sperm in that it is larger and is nonmotile, a smooth sphere or oval lacking the flagellum of the sperm. Like that of the sperm, its nucleus contains the chromosomes, which bear the hereditary material of the parent. A gamete, ovum or sperm, contains half the number of chromosomes found in the body cells of the parent, i.e., the gamete is haploid. In animals, ova contain stored food called the yolk, the amount of which varies in different species, depending on the length of time required for the embryo to become self-sufficient in obtaining nourishment outside the egg.

The term ovum is usually restricted to the single female sex cell, but the term egg, in its common use to indicate a bird's egg, refers to a more complex structure, only part of which is produced in the ovary of the bird. The ovum of such an egg is a cell swollen with yolk material. The rest of the egg—e.g., the jelly mass surrounding amphibian eggs, and the shell, membranes, and egg white, or albumen, of bird eggs—is not cellular and is secreted around the ovum as it passes down the oviduct.

Animal Ova

Oogenesis

Ova are produced in the ovary of the female; they are formed from reproductive cells (called primordial germ cells) in a process called oogenesis. In this maturation process a germ cell builds up its food supply and then undergoes a series of cell divisions (called meiosis ), by which the number of chromosomes in the mature ovum is reduced by half. In oogenesis in animals only one of the four cells formed by meiotic division is functional. In this ovum all the yolk from the original cell is collected; the three other, yolkless, cells are called polar bodies and never develop further. Maturation also occurs in the formation of sperm (spermatogenesis), but in spermatogenesis, in contrast to oogenesis, all four of the cells formed by meiotic division are functional.

Fertilization and Maturation

The union of mature sperm and ovum, each bearing half the normal number of chromosomes, results in a single cell (the zygote) with a full number of chromosomes. The zygote undergoes a series of cell divisions (see mitosis ) producing a multicellular embryo and finally a mature individual. In all sexually reproducing animals the production and maturation of the ovum, its fertilization , and its early embryonic development are essentially identical.

Plant Ova

In plants that reproduce sexually the pattern is similar to that of animals. In the mosses and ferns, however, the egg cells are formed in special organs called archegonia and are fertilized by sperm that are commonly flagellated and motile like those of animals. In flowering plants the ovary is situated in the base of the pistil of the flower. After fertilization by a sperm contained in a pollen grain, the zygote develops into the embryo, contained in the seed.

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ovum

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

o·vum / ˈōvəm/ • n. (pl. o·va / ˈōvə/ ) Biol. a mature female reproductive cell, esp. of a human or other animal, that can divide to give rise to an embryo usually only after fertilization by a male cell. ORIGIN: early 18th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘egg.’

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ovum

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Copyright

ovum (egg cell) (pl. ova)
1. (in zoology) The mature reproductive cell (see gamete) of female animals, which is produced by the ovary (see oogenesis). It is spherical, has a nucleus, is covered with an egg membrane, and is not mobile.

2. (in botany) The oosphere of plants.
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ovum

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

ovum (pl. ova) An unfertilized egg cell. In animals it is often the product of the division of a secondary oocyte. Fertilized by the sperm, an ovum develops as an embryo.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "ovum." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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ovum

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

ovum (egg cell) Female gamete produced in an ovary. After fertilization by sperm it becomes a zygote, which is capable of developing into a new individual.
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ovum

A Dictionary of Nursing | 2008 | Copyright

ovum (egg cell) (oh-vŭm) n. (pl. ova) the mature female sex cell (see gamete).
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ovum

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

ovum egg (female reproductive cell). XVIII. — L., see EGG1.
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T. F. HOAD. "ovum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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ovum

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

ovum. Egg-shaped form in Classical mouldings, e.g. egg-and-dart.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "ovum." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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ovum

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences | 1998 | | Copyright

ovum (pl. ova) An unfertilized egg cell.
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ovum

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

ovum •hansom, ransom, Ransome, transom •Wrexham • sensum • Epsom • jetsam •lissom • winsome • gypsum • alyssum •blossom, opossum, possum •flotsam • awesome • balsam • Folsom •noisome • twosome •fulsome • buxom • Hilversum •irksome • Gresham • meerschaum •petersham • nasturtium •atom, Euratom •factum •bantam, phantom •sanctum •desideratum, erratum, post-partum, stratum •substratum • rectum • momentum •septum •datum, petrolatum, pomatum, Tatum, ultimatum •arboretum • dictum • symptom •ad infinitum •bottom, rock-bottom •quantum •autumn, postmortem •factotum, Gotham, scrotum, teetotum, totem •sputum •accustom, custom •diatom • anthem • Bentham • Botham •fathom • rhythm • biorhythm •algorithm • logarithm • sempervivum •ovum • William

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Here comes the egg biz: ova operations open in Japan.
Magazine article from: Japan Inc.; 6/1/2003
Prevalence of ova of the nematode parasite, Toxocara spp., in three public...
Magazine article from: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science; 10/1/2002
Contrasting strategies of ova lipid provisioning in relation to maternal...
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences; 4/1/2007

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