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

See Examples For:

polar body

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

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

It will have one diplomat, whose work will focus on business outreach, science and the Arctic Council, a polar body comprising the eight Arctic states of Russia, the U.S.,

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

This second cell is called a polar body and usually dies.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

There follows a second and similar small cell, behind the first, the second polar body.

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