germinal vesicle

American  

noun

Embryology.

1. the large, vesicular nucleus of an ovum before the polar bodies are formed.

---

germinal vesicle British  

noun

1. biology the large nucleus of an oocyte before it develops into an ovum

---

Etymology

Origin of germinal vesicle

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

I have not found a passage so striking as that which occurs a few lines lower “that the germinal vesicle is impressed with some power which is wonderfully preserved, &c.”

From The Foundations of the Origin of Species Two Essays written in 1842 and 1844 by Darwin, Francis, Sir

Either the ovum was a cell and the germinal vesicle its nucleus, or else the germinal vesicle was itself a cell within the larger cell of the ovum and the germinal spot was its nucleus.

From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

After the ovum has finished its growth, and elaborated the yolk within itself, a peculiar change occurs in the small area free from yolk-- the animal pole, in which the germinal vesicle lies.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

The ovule is a minute cell with a transparent membrane, within which is the yolk containing the germinal vesicle.

From The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; a study in hygiene by Galbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)

This germinal vesicle divides, and one moiety is budded off from the ovum.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)