Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The entry of several sperm into one ovum during fertilization.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Impregnation of an ovum by more than one spermatozoön.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Biol.) Fullness of sperm, or seed; the passage of more than one spermatozoön into the vitellus in the impregnation of the ovum.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biology The
penetration of anovum by more than onesperm
Etymologies
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Examples
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If more than one sperm penetrates an egg a situation called polyspermy, an abnormal embryo results, which would not survive.
Getting Pregnant Niels H. Lauersen 2000
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Occasionally a second spermatozoön may enter the yolk, thus giving rise to a condition of polyspermy: when this occurs the ovum usually develops in an abnormal manner and gives rise to a monstrosity.
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The ovum's zona pellucida is modified tot block polyspermy.
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Dr Hasson said: 'To avoid the fatal consequences of polyspermy, female reproductive tracts have evolved to become formidable barriers to sperm.
Home | Mail Online 2009
bilby commented on the word polyspermy
"As soon as the spermatozoön has entered the yolk, the peripheral portion of the latter is transformed into a membrane, the vitelline membrane which prevents the passage of additional spermatozoa. Occasionally a second spermatozoön may enter the yolk, thus giving rise to a condition of polyspermy: when this occurs the ovum usually develops in an abnormal manner and gives rise to a monstrosity."
- Henry Gray, 'Anatomy of the Human Body', 1918.
September 20, 2009