sperm

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sperm

sperm or spermatozoon , in biology, the male gamete (sex cell), corresponding to the female ovum in organisms that reproduce sexually. In higher animals the sperm is produced in the testis of the male; it is much smaller than the ovum and consists primarily of a head, whose nucleus bears the hereditary material (see chromosome ) of the male parent, and a slender whiplike process (flagellum), which provides the motility necessary for fertilization in a fluid medium. In higher plants the sperm is contained in the pollen grain and is conveyed to the ovum by the pollen tube; in some lower plants (e.g., mosses and ferns) the sperm is actively motile.

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sperm

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Â© A Dictionary of Biology 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

sperm
1. A single spermatozoon.

2. Spermatozoa, collectively.

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The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

sperm / spərm/ • n. (pl. same or sperms ) 1. short for spermatozoon. ∎ inf. semen. 2. short for sperm whale. ∎ short for spermaceti or sperm oil.

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