meroblastic

American  

[mer-uh-blas-tik] / ˌmɛr əˈblæs tɪk /

adjective

Embryology.

1. (of certain eggs) undergoing partial cleavage, resulting in unequal blastomeres.

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meroblastic British  

/ ˌmɛrəʊˈblæstɪk /

adjective

1. embryol of or showing cleavage of only the non-yolky part of the zygote, as in birds' eggs Compare holoblastic

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Other Word Forms

• meroblastically adverb

Etymology

Origin of meroblastic

First recorded in 1865–70; mero- + -blast + -ic

Compare meaning

How does meroblastic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• holoblastic vs. meroblastic

Example Sentences

Parablast, par′a-blast, n. the supplementary or nutritive yolk of a meroblastic egg or metovum—as distinguished from the archiblast, or formative yolk.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

Latebra, lat′eb-ra, n. the cavity in the food-yolk of a meroblastic ovum.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

Meroblast, mer′ō-blast, n. a meroblastic ovum.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

So far, the essential differences between the development of fowl and frog, the meroblastic segmentation, absence of a typical gastrula, and the primitive streak, seem comprehensible on the theory that such differences are due to the presence of an enormous amount of yolk.

From Project Gutenberg

Such a type of segmentation in which only part of the ovum segments is called meroblastic.

From Project Gutenberg