- Fertilization
- Fertilization is the process of combining the male gamete, or "sperm," with the female gamete, or "ovum." The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote.
* * *The process beginning with penetration of the secondary oocyte by the spermatozoon and completed by fusion of the male and female pronuclei.- in vitro f. (IVF) a process whereby (usually multiple) ova are placed in a medium to which sperm are added for f., the zygote thus produced then being introduced into the uterus and allowed to develop to term.- in vivo f. f. of a ripe egg within the distal fallopian tube of a fertile donor female (rather than in an artificial medium), for subsequent nonsurgical transfer to an infertile recipient.
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fer·til·iza·tion or Brit fer·til·isa·tion .fərt-əl-ə-'zā-shən n an act or process of making fertile: asa) an act or process of fecundation, insemination, or impregnationb) the process of union of two gametes whereby the somatic chromosome number is restored and the development of a new individual is initiated* * *
n.the fusion of a spermatozoon and an ovum. Rapid changes in the membrane of the ovum prevent other spermatozoa from penetrating. Penetration stimulates the completion of meiosis and the formation of the second polar body. Once the male and female pronuclei have fused the zygote starts to divide by cleavage.* * *
fer·ti·li·za·tion (furґtĭ-lĭ-zaґshən) the act of rendering gametes fertile or capable of further development; it is a sequence of events that begins with contact between a spermatozoon and an oocyte, leading to their fusion, which stimulates the completion of oocyte maturation with release of the second polar body. Male and female pronuclei then form and merge; synapsis follows, which restores the diploid number of chromosomes and results in biparental inheritance and the determination of sex. The process of fertilization leads to the formation of a zygote and ends with the initiation of its cleavage. Called also fecundation and impregnation.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
