FERTILIZATION
Fertilization is the process of fusion of spermatozoon with mature
ovum.
Fertilizable life span of oocyte ranges from 12 to 24hours, where as
of sperm is 48 to 72 hrs.
STEPS INVOLVED:
Zygote formation
Morula
Blastocyst
Implantation
Trophoblast
ZYGOTE – the male and female pronuclie unite at the center with
restoration of diploid number of chromosomes.
The zygote thus formed contains both the paternal and maternal
genetic materials.
Morula – After zygote formation mitotic division of the nucleous
occurs by producing 2 blastomeres. It reaches 30hrs after
fertilization
BLASTOCYST – The zona pellucida divide cells of morula is termed
as blastocyst.
Almost always, fertilization occurs in the ampullary part of the
uterine tube.
APPROXIMATION OF THE GAMETES:
The ovum, immediately following ovulation is picked up by the tubal fimbriae which partly
envelope the ovary, especially at the time of ovulation.
The pick up action might be muscular or by a kind of suction or by ciliary action or by a positive
chemotaxis exerted by the tubal secretion.
The ovum is rapidly transported to the ampullary part.
Out of hundreds of millions of sperms deposited in the vagina at single ejaculation, only
thousands capacitated spermatozoa enter the uterine tube while only 300–500 reach the ovum.
The tubal transport is facilitated by muscular contraction and aspiration action of the uterine
tube. It takes only few minutes for the sperm to reach the Fallopian tube.
CONTACT AND FUSION OF THE
GAMETES
Complete dissolution of the cells of the corona radiata
occurs by the chemical action of the hyaluronidase
liberated from the acrosomal cap of the hundreds of
sperm present at the site.
Penetration of the zona pellucida is facilitated by the
release of hyaluronidase from the acrosomal cap.
More than one sperm may penetrate the zona pellucida.
Out of the many sperms, one touches the oolemma.
Soon after the sperm fusion, penetration of other sperm is
prevented by zona reaction (hardening) and oolemma
block.
Sex of the child is determined by the pattern of the sex
chromosome supplied by the spermatozoon. If the spermatozoon
contains ‘X’ chromosome, a female embryo (46, XX) is formed; if it
contains a ‘Y’ chromosome, a male embryo (46, XY) is formed.
Implantation
It occurs in the
endometrium of the
Implantation occurs
anterior or posterior
through four stages
wall of the body
e.g. apposition,
near the fundus on
adhesion,
the 6th day which
penetration and
corresponds to the
invasion.
20th day of a regular
menstrual cycle.
CLEAVAGE
The mitotic divisions of a zygote (fertilised egg) to form a blastomere (cleavage cells).
Cleavage refers to the process of cell division that takes place during the initial stages of
an embryo's development post-fertilization.
The zygote of many species undergoes rapid cell cycle progression without significant
overall growth, leading to a cluster of cells that are the same size as the original zygote.
These individual cells, produced by cleavage, are termed as blastomeres, and they come
together to form a solid ball-like structure called the morula.
The development of the blastula, or the blastocyst marks the end of the cleavage process.
