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blastomere

 
Dictionary: blas·to·mere   (blăs'tə-mîr') pronunciation
n.
Any of the cells resulting from the cleavage of a fertilized ovum during early embryonic development.

blastomeric blas'to·mer'ic (-mîr'ĭk, -mĕr'-) adj.

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Medical Dictionary: blas·to·mere
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(blăs'tə-mēr')
n.

Any of the cells resulting from the cleavage of a fertilized ovum during early embryonic development.

blas'to·mer'ic (-mēr'ĭk, -mĕr'-) adj.
Veterinary Dictionary: blastomere
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One of the cells produced by cleavage of a fertilized ovum.

WordNet: blastomere
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: any cell resulting from cleavage of a fertilized egg


Wikipedia: Blastomere
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A blastomere is a type of cell produced by division of the egg after fertilization.

Contents

Human blastomere

In humans, blastomere formation begins immediately following fertilization and continues through the first week of embryonic development. About 30 hours after fertilization, the zygote divides into two cells. These mitotic divisions continue and result in a grouping of cells called blastomeres. During this process, the total size of the embryo does not increase, so each division results in smaller and smaller cells. When the zygote contains 16 to 32 blastomeres it is referred to as a "morula."

Clinical disorders

It is possible for errors to occur during this process of repetitive cell division. Common among these errors is for the genetic material to not be divided evenly. Normally, when a cell divides each daughter cell has the same genetic material as the parent cell. If the genetic material does not split evenly between the two daughter cells, an event called "nondisjunction" occurs. Since this event occurs in only one of the several cells that exist at this point, the embryo will continue to develop but will have some normal cells and some abnormal cells. The people are "mosaics" of normal and abnormal cells, so this disorder is called "numerical mosaicism".

See also

References

  • "Blastomere." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000). ISBN 0-683-40007-X
  • Moore, Keith L. and T.V.N. Persaud. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th ed. (2003). ISBN 0-7216-9412-8

 
 
Learn More
blastocone (embryology)
ectomere (embryology)
endomere (embryology)

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Blastomere" Read more