Fertilization and Pregnancy Flashcards
How many eggs are released in a typical menstrual cycle
Only 1!
How many eggs do you have at birth? At puberty? In a typical menstrual cycle?
Birth = 2 million
Puberty = 400,000
Typical menstrual cycle = 1
What are the products of gametogenesis and where does it occur
Occurs in the gonads
- sperm and eggs are released by the gonads
- sperm and secondary oocytes
- leads to the release of many sperm and one secondary oocyte
How many sperm are released in gametogenesis
MANY
How many eggs are released in gametogenesis
Just one!
Compare the size of sperm to eggs
Eggs are REALLY BIG in comparison to the miniature sperm cells
What is fertilization
Fusions of two haploid gametes, which produce a zygote
- successful fertilization involves the combined actions of many many sperm in order for one sperm to fuse with the oocyte
When does successful fertilization occur
Within a day of ovulation
- not long after the occyte enters the uterine tube
How long is ejaculated sperm viable in the uterine tube? How long is a secondary oocyte viable after ovulation?
At least some of the ejaculated sperm can reach the uterine tube within a few hours of ejaculation
- can remain viable for 5-7 days in the female reproductive tract
A secondary oocyte remains viable for 24 hours after ovulation
How many sperm actually reach the egg after penetrating the oocyte’s membrane
Many sperm are required to break through the oocyte’s membrane, but only ONE sperm can penetrate the oocyte
Which part of the sperm is used to break down the layers of follicular cells surrounding the occyte
The enzymes in the ACROSOME (tip) of the sperm are used to break down the layers of follicular cells that make up the corona radiata
What is the corona radiata
The outer layer of follicular cells surrounding the oocyte
How does an oocyte get activated during fertilization
When one sperm breaks the oocyte membrane, the oocyte is activated
- must break down the outer layer to penetrate the ovum and fertilize it
What is the zona pellucida
A thick membrane inside of the corona radiata that protects the ovum from having more than one sperm penetrate it
- biochemical reactions in the zona pellucida prevent more than one sperm from entering the ovum by releasing enzymes
Determine if fertilization will or will not occur in the following scenario:
Sperm reach the uterine tube days before ovulation.
FERTILIZATION MIGHT OCCUR
Sperm can remain viable for days, as long as they are in the area where the ovum will end up after ovulation (Fallopian tubes) fertilization might occur
- especially if the sperm is still viable in that window
Determine if fertilization will or will not occur in the following scenario:
Ovulation occurs more than a day before sperm enter the female reproductive tract.
FERTILIZATION MIGHT NOT OCCUR
The ovum is only viable within 24 hours of ovulation, so if sperm enters the female reproductive tract more than a day after ovulation, fertilization will be difficult because the egg is not viable anymore
Determine if fertilization will or will not occur in the following scenario:
The ejaculate contains low numbers of sperm, so too few reach the oocyte.
FERTILIZATION MIGHT NOT OCCUR
Penetration requires many sperm together to break through the ovum, so too few sperm would not be enough to reach the ovum for fertilization
- there is a threshold number of sperm
What happens after a sperm enters the ovum and how does a zygote form
After a sperm has entered the ovum, two haploid pronuclei develop and mingle their chromosomes
- this is what develops a zygote
- as soon as the chromosomes mingle, the first mitotic cell division begins -> around 24 hours after the point of fertilization
Where does fertilization occur
In the Fallopian/uterine tubes of the female reproductive system
Describe step 1 of fertilization:
Oocyte at ovulation
Secondary oocyte is released at ovulation (occurs on day 14 of the uterine cycle)
Describe step 2 of fertilization:
Fertilization and oocyte activation
Sperm penetrates the corona radiata and fertilizes ovum
- oocyte is activated
- zona pellucida releases enzymes to prevent more than one sperm from entering the ovum
Describe step 3 of fertilization:
Pronuclei develop and DNA
Once the sperm has entered the ovum, the nuclei from the sperm and egg develop into two haploid pronuclei and mingle their chromosomes
- a zygote is formed
Describe step 4 of fertilization:
Spindle formation begins
- male and female pronuclei are developing
- spindle formation also begins
Describe step 5 of fertilization:
Amphimixis occurs and cleavage begins
- mitosis begins and metaphase of the first cleavage division occurs
- starts with 46 chromosomes and undergoes mitotic division
- size of the zygote itself does not change, the cells within the zygote just get smaller
Describe step 6 of fertilization:
First cleavage forms two blastomeres
- first cleavage division begins and eventually forms two blastomeres
- the zygote itself is the same size, but the blastomeres are smaller
When does cleavage begin
Begins immediately after the zygote is formed
What is a pre-embryo
During the period of cleavage, the zygote starts a series of repeated mitotic cell divisions, increasing its cell numbers without growing in size
- it is now considered a pre-embryo
What is a(n advanced) morula and how does it differ from blastomeres
A solid ball of cells surrounded by zona pellucida
- blastommeres are just two cells inside the zona pellucida
What is a plastomere
Daughter cells produced during cleavage
What happens on day 1-10 after the zygote is formed
First cleavage division
- cells get smaller but the size of the zygote remains the same
- Two-cell stage
- AKA blastomeres - Four-cell stage
- AKA more blastomeres - Early morula
- solid ball of cells surrounded by zona pellucida - Advanced morula
- solid ball of cells surrounded by zona pellucida - Shedding of zona pellucida and loss of zona pellucida allows for transport of zygote to uterus
6-9. Implantation of zygote into uterine wall
- Yolk sac formation
Where is the morula typically found
Found in the uterine tube
What is a blastocyst
- develops from the morula
- hatches from zona pellucida
- around the time the morula enters the uterus, it sheds the zona pellucida and undergoes cell rearrangements, creating a blastocyst
- hollow ball of cells with a fluid-filled inner cavity and an inner mass of cells that will become the embryo
What is the blastocoele
- blastocyst cavity
- hollow cavity
What is the embryoblast
- inner cell mass of a blastocyst
- will become the embryo
What is implantation
- the process by which the blastocyst fuses with the functional layer of the endometrium
What is the endometrium
- layer lining the lumen of the uterus
- has a functional layer
- functional layer gets shedded during menstrual cycle