Polar body

Definition

A polar body is a small haploid cell that is formed concurrently as an egg cell during oogenesis, but it does not develop into an embryo. It is produced to ensure that the egg cell retains most of the cytoplasmic material necessary for development after fertilization.

Related terms

Oogenesis:

The process in female animals that produces egg cells through meiotic division.

Haploid: A cell containing one complete set of chromosomes, characteristic of gametes in sexually reproducing organisms.

Cytoplasm:

The material within a living cell, excluding the nucleus, containing various organelles and involved in cellular processes