polar body

noun Cell Biology.

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

Origin of polar body

First recorded in 1885–90

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British Dictionary definitions for polar body

polar body

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

polar body in Medicine

polar body

n.

Either of two small cells formed by the ovum during its maturation, the first usually released just before ovulation and the second not until after the ovum has been discharged from the ovary and penetrated by a sperm cell.

polar body in Science

polar body

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. See Note at oogenesis.