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female gamete
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female → born with all potential eggs she will ever have.
- at birth → about 70000 potential eggs already present in ovaries
- however only abt 500 will ever become mature within the 2 ovaries.
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usually only 1 mature egg → released every month from time female becomes physically mature → until abt 45-55 years of age.
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egg is spherical and about wide
Egg:
- abundant cytoplasm which may contain small amount of yolk
- surrounded by cell membrane which in turn → surrounded by outer membrane (or jelly coat)
- outer membrane → changes during fertilisation to prevent other sperm from entering the egg
- large nucleus containing haploid number of chromosomes.
- presence of plasma membrane surrounded by outer membrane