Anatomy books

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Fertilization : easy and brief description

Fertilization : easy and brief explanation
Definition: The process by which male and female gametes fuse to form zygote
Site of  fertilization: the ampullary region of the uterine tube
Spermatozoa are not able to fertilize the oocyte immediately upon arrival in the female genital tract but must undergo a) capacitation  b) acrosome reaction to acquire this capability.
Capacitation : is a period of conditioning in the female reproductive tract that in the human lasts approximately 7 hours
The acrosome reaction: which occurs after binding to the zona pellucida, is induced by zona proteins.
The phases of fertilization include
Phase 1: penetration of the corona radiate.
Phase 2: penetration of the zona pellucida.
Phase 3: fusion of the oocyte and sperm cell membranes.
The main results of fertilization are as follows
·        restoration of the diploid number of chromosomes
·        determination of sex
·        initiation of cleavage
Egg responses in three ways when the spermatozoon has entered the oocyte
1.     cortical and zona reactions:
a) the oocyte membrane becomes impenetrable to other spermatozoa
b) zona pellucida alters its structure and composition to prevent sperm binding and    penetration
2.     Resumption of the second meiotic division
3.     Metabolic activation of the egg

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