Download Reproduction and Development Vocabulary

Reproduction and Development Vocabulary
acrosomal process
acrosomal reaction
acrosome
allantois
amnion
amniotes
androgen
animal pole
archenteron
blastocoel
blastocyst
blastomeres
blastopore
blastula
budding
cervix
corpus luteum
cortical granules
cortical reaction
ectoderm
embryo
endoderm
endometrium
endometrium
epididymis
estrous cycle
The discharge of a sperm's acrosome when the sperm approaches an egg.
An organelle at the tip of a sperm cell that helps the sperm penetrate the egg.
One of four extra-embryonic membranes; serves as a repository for the
embryo's nitrogenous waste.
The innermost of four extraembryonic membranes; encloses a fluid-filled sac in
which the embryo is suspended.
A vertebrate possessing an amnion surrounding the embryo; reptiles, birds, and
mammals are amniotes.
The principal male steroid hormones, such as testosterone, which stimulate the
development and maintenance of the male reproductive system and secondary
sex characteristics.
The portion of the egg where the least yolk is concentrated. Opposite of vegetal
pole.
The endoderm-lined cavity, formed during the gastrulation process, that
develops into the digestive tract of an animal.
The fluid-filled cavity that forms in the center of the blastula embryo
An embryonic stage in mammals; a hollow ball of cells produced one week after
fertilization in humans.
Small cells of an early embryo.
The opening of the archenteron in the gastrula that develops into the mouth in
protostomes and the anus in deuterostomes.
The hollow ball of cells marking the end stage of cleavage during early
embryonic development.
An asexual means of propagation in which outgrowths from the parent form
and pinch off to live independently or else remain attached to eventually form
extensive colonies.
The neck of the uterus, which opens into the vagina.
A secreting tissue in the ovary that forms from the collapsed follicle after
ovulation and produces progesterone.
Vesicles that begin just under the egg plasma membrane prior to their
involvement in the cortical reaction.
A series of changes in the cortex of the egg cytoplasm during fertilization.
The outermost of the three primary germ layers in animal embryos; gives rise to
the outer covering and, in some phyla, the nervous system, inner ear, and lens
of the eye.
New developing individuals
The innermost of the three primary germ layers in animal embryos; lines the
archenteron and gives rise to the liver, pancreas, lungs, and the lining of the
digestive tract.
The inner lining of the uterus, which is richly supplied with blood vessels.
A coiled tubule located adjacent to the testes where sperm are stored.
A type of reproductive cycle in all female mammals except higher primates, in
which the nonpregnant endometrium is reabsorbed rather than shed, and
extraembryonic
membranes
fallopian tube (oviduct)
fertilization envelope
follicle
follicle stimulating
hormone
follicular phase
fragmentation
gastrula
gestation
gray crescent
holoblastic cleavage
homeotic gene
human chorionic
gonadotropin
hydrolytic enzymes
hypothalamus
implantation
inner cell mass
interstitial cells
leydig cells
luteal phase
luteinizing hormone
mammary glands
menstrual cycle
menstrual flow phase
sexual response occurs only during midcycle at estrus.
Four membranes (yolk sac, amnion, chorion, allantois) that support the
developing embryo in reptiles, birds, and mammals.
A tube passing from the ovary to the vagina in invertebrates or to the uterus in
vertebrates.
The swelling of the vitelline layer away from the plasma membrane.
A microscopic structure in the ovary that contains the developing ovum and
secretes estrogens.
A protein hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary that stimulates the
production of eggs by the ovaries and sperm by the testes.
That portion of the ovarian cycle during which several follicles in the ovary
begin to grow.
breaking body into many pieces which develop into complete adults
The two-layered, cup-shaped embryonic stage.
Pregnancy; the state of carrying developing young within the female
reproductive tract.
A light-gray region of cytoplasm located near the equator of the egg on the side
opposite the sperm entry.
A type of cleavage in which there is complete division of the egg, as in eggs
having little yolk (sea urchin) or a moderate amount of yolk (frog).
Any of the genes that control the overall body plan of animals by controlling the
developmental fate of groups of cells.
A hormone secreted by the chorion that maintains the corpus leuteum of the
ovary during the first three months of pregnancy.
The ventral part of the vertebrate forebrain; functions in maintaining
homeostasis, especially in coordinating the endocrine and nervous systems;
secretes hormones of the posterior pituitary and releasing factors, which
regulate the anterior pituitary.
A cluster of cells in a mammalian blastocyst that protrudes into one end of the
cavity and subsequently develops into the embryo proper and some of the
extraembryonic membranes
Cells scattered among the seminiferous tubules of the vertebrate testis that
secrete testosterone and other androgens, the male sex hormones.
Located between the seminiferous tubules of the testes, these cells produce
testosterone and other androgens.
That portion of the ovarian cycle during which endocrine cells of the corpus
luteum secrete female hormones.
A protein hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary that stimulates ovulation
in females and androgen production in males.
Exocrine glands that secrete milk to nourish the young. These glands are
characteristic of mammals.
A type of reproductive cycle in higher female primates, in which the
nonpregnant endometrium is shed as a bloody discharge through the cervix
into the vagina.
That portion of the menstrual cycle when menstrual bleeding occurs.
meroblastic cleavage
mesoderm
morula
neural crest
neural tube
neurulation
notochord
organogenesis
ovary
ovulation
oxytocin
parturition
pheromones
pituitary
placenta
polyspermy
primitive streak
progesterone
prolactin
proliferative phase
prostate
regeneration
scrotum
A type of cleavage in which there is incomplete division of yolk-rich egg,
characteristic of avian development.
The middle primary germ layer of an early embryo that develops into the
notochord, the lining of the coelom, muscles, skeleton, gonads, kidneys, and
most of the circulatory system.
A solid ball of blastomeres formed by early cleavage.
A band of cells along the border where the neural tube pinches off from the
ectoderm; the cells migrate to various parts of the embryo and form the pigment
cells in the skin, bones of the skull, the teeth, the adrenal glands, and parts of
the peripheral nervous system.
A tube of cells running along the dorsal axis of the body, just dorsal to the
notochord. It will give rise to the central nervous system.
A long flexible rod that runs along the dorsal axis of the body in the future
position of the vertebral column.
The development of organ rudiments from the three germ layers.
(1) In flowers, the portion of a carpel in which the egg-containing ovules
develop. (2) In animals, the structure that produces female gametes and
reproductive hormones.
The release of an egg from ovaries. In humans, an ovarian follicle releases an
egg during each menstrual cycle.
A hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the posterior
pituitary. It induces contractions of the uterine muscles and causes the
mammary glands to eject milk during nursing.
The expulsion of a baby from the mother, also called birth.
A small, volatile chemical signal that functions in communication between
animals and acts much like a
An endocrine gland at the base of the hypothalamus; consists of a posterior lobe
(neurohypophysis), which stores and releases two hormones produced by the
hypothalamus, and an anterior lobe (adenohypophysis), which produces and
secretes many hormones that regulate diverse body functions.
A structure in the pregnant uterus for nourishing a viviparous fetus with the
mother's blood supply; formed from the uterine lining and embryonic
membranes.
A groove on the surface of an early avian embryo along the future long axis of
the body.
A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland with a great diversity of
effects in different vertebrate species.
That portion of the menstrual cycle when the endometrium regenerates and
thickens.
A gland in human males that secretes an acid neutralizing component of semen.
The regrowth of body parts from pieces of an organism.
A pouch of skin outside the abdomen that houses a testis; functions in cooling
sperm, thereby keeping them viable.
secretory phase
seminal vesicle
seminiferous tubules
somite
testes
uterus
vagina
vegetal pole
vitelline layer
yolk
yolk plug
zona pellucida
That portion of the menstrual cycle when the endometrium continues to
thicken, becomes more vascularized, and develops glands that secrete a fluid
rich in glycogen.
A gland in males that secretes a fluid component of semen that lubricates and
nourishes sperm.
Highly coiled tubes in the testes in which sperm are produced.
Paired blocks of mesoderm just lateral to the notochord of a vertebrate embryo.
(plural, testes) The male reproductive organ, or gonad, in which sperm and
reproductive hormones are produced.
A female organ where eggs are fertilized and/or development of the young
occurs.
Part of the female reproductive system between the uterus and the outside
opening; the birth canal in mammals; also accommodates the male's penis and
receives sperm during copulation
The portion of the egg where most yolk is concentrated. Opposite of animal
pole.
Nutrients stored in an egg.
Large food-laden endodermal cells surrounded by the blastopore of an
amphibian gastrula.
The extracellular matrix of a mammalian egg.