卵, 卵细胞, 卵子

[医] 卵

Ovum \O"vum\ ([=o]"v[u^]m), n.; pl. L. {Ova} ([=o]"v[.a]), E.
{Ovums} ([=o]"v[u^]mz). [L., an egg. See {Oval}.]
1. (Biol.) A more or less spherical and transparent cell,
which by a process of multiplication and growth develops
into a mass of cells, constituting a new individual like
the parent; an egg, spore, germ, or germ cell. See Illust.
of {Mycropyle}.

Note: The ovum is a typical cell, with a cell wall, cell
substance, nucleus, and nucleolus. In man and the
higher animals the cell wall, a vertically striated
membrane, is called the zona pellucida; the cell
contents, the vitellus; the nucleus, the germinal
vesicle; and the nucleolus, the germinal spot. The
diameter of the ripe ovum in man and the domestic
animals varies between 1-200 and 1-120 of an inch.

2. (Arch.) One of the series of egg-shaped ornaments into
which the ovolo is often carved. --Gwilt.


Ova \O"va\, n. pl.
See {Ovum}.