FERTILISATION AND IMPLANTATION
Fertilisation and Implantation are the two major and
crucial processes in reproduction in human beings. The
zygotes fuse and are later implanted on the walls of the
uterus for further growth.
INTRODUCTION
Fertilisation and implantation are when the human
embryo is developed by a series of complex and
remarkable events. The implantation and fertilisation
refer to the fusion of male as well as female gametes.
The semen is inseminated in the female vagina during
copulation during this process.
Fertilisation
Fertilisation is the natural life process, which is carried
out by the fusion of both male and female gametes,
which results in the formation of a zygote. In humans,
the process of fertilisation takes place in the fallopian
tube.
During this process, semen comprising thousands of
sperms are inseminated into the female vagina during
coitus. The sperms move towards the uterus and reach
the opening of the fallopian tube. only a few sperms will
succeed in reaching the opening of the fallopian tube.
The secondary oocyte releases from the matured
Grafian follicle of the ovary and enters into the fallopian
tube, where it is fertilized within 24 hours, after which it
is released from the ovary.
Though surrounded by several sperms, the oocyte is
fertilized by a single sperm. During meiosis-II, the sperm
enters the secondary oocyte and completes the meiosis.
After this, the secondary oocyte is known as the egg.
Both sperm and egg can show their vitality only to a
limited period. Sperm is alive for 48-72 hours in a female
reproductive system, whereas the egg can be fertilised
for 24 hours before it is released.
Chemical events during fertilisation
A sperm cell must penetrate the different layers of
oocyte for the process of fertilisation. These layers
include granulosa cells, corona radiata, and zona
pellucida. Sperm can pierce the corona radiata cells and
come into touch with the zona pellucida because of the
presence of acrosomal enzymes and vigorous tail
motions.
During fertilisation,a sperm comes in contact with the
zona pellucida layer of the ovum.
The secretions of the acrosome help the sperm enter
into the cytoplasm of the ovum through the zona
pellucida and the plasma membrane.
This induces the completion of the meiotic division of the
secondary oocyte. The haploid nucleus of the sperm
and that of ovum fuse together to form a diploid zygote.
Prevention of polyspermy
Polyspermy is the entry of more than one sperm into an
oocyte. After the entry of one sperm, the entry of
another sperm is blocked. Cortical granules fuse with
the plasma membrane of the oocyte. This causes
release of their enzymatic content between the plasma
membrane and the zona pellucida. These enzymes
harden the zona pellucida and inactivate the sperm
receptors which help in the prevention of polyspermy.
Chromosomal pattern
The pattern in the human female is XX and that of male
is XY. 50% of sperms carry the X chromosome while the
other 50% carry Y chromosome.
After the fusion of male and female gametes the zygote
would carry either XX or XY depending on whether the
sperm carrying X or Y fertilised the ovum. The zygote
carrying XX would develop into a female baby and XY
would form a male.
Implantation
The mitotic division starts as the zygote moves through
the isthmus of the oviduct called cleavage towards the
uterus and forms 2,4,8,16 daughter cells called
blastomeres. The embryo with 8 to 16 blastomeres is
called Morula.
The Morula continues to divide and transforms into
blastocyst as it moves further into the uterus. The
blastomeres in the blastocyst are arranged into an outer
layer called trophoblast and an inner group of cells
attached to the trophoblast called the inner cell mass.
The trophoblast layer then gets attached to the
endometrium and the inner cell mass gets
differentiated as the embryo. After attachment, the
uterine cells divide rapidly and covers the blastocyst.
As a result, the blastocyst becomes embedded in the
endometrium of the uterus. This is called implantation
and it leads to pregnancy.
After the implantation, finger-like projections appear on
the trophoblast called chorionic villi which are
surrounded by the uterine tissue and maternal blood.
The chorionic villi and uterine tissue become
interdigitated with each other and jointly form a structural
and functional unit between developing embryo (foetus)
and maternal body called placenta.
