polar body

American  

noun

Cell Biology.

1. one of the minute cells arising from the unequal meiotic divisions of the ovum at or near the time of fertilization.

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polar body British  

noun

1. physiol a tiny cell containing little cytoplasm that is produced with the ovum during oogenesis when the oocyte undergoes meiosis

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polar body Scientific  

1. One of the small cells that are produced during the development of an oocyte and ultimately degenerate. A polar body contains one of the nuclei derived from the first or second meiotic division but little or no cytoplasm.

2. See Note at oogenesis

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Etymology

Origin of polar body

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

The cell that fuses with the egg is known as a polar body.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2024

Tromsoe is also the seat of the Arctic Council, a polar body comprising the eight Arctic states of Russia, the US, Canada, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark.

From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2023

In vertebrates like crocodiles, one polar body can synthesize with the egg to make offspring.

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2023

They occur when an egg divides in two during ovulation, creating a primary body and a polar body, both of which have the same genetics.

From Time • May 8, 2015

I. The second polar body has just been extruded; both male and female pronuclei contain two chromatin particles; those of the male pronucleus are becoming transformed into a skein.

From Darwin, and After Darwin (Vol. 1 and 3, of 3) An Exposition of the Darwinian Theory and a Discussion of Post-Darwinian Questions by Romanes, George John