blastula

noun

blas·​tu·​la ˈblas-chə-lə 

plural blastulas or blastulae ˈblas-chə-ˌlē 

: an early metazoan embryo typically having the form of a hollow fluid-filled rounded cavity bounded by a single layer of cells compare gastrula, morula

blastulation

ˌblas-chə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

Illustration of blastula

• c blastocoel
• ma macromere
• mi micromere
• a animal pole
• v vegetal pole

Examples of blastula in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The cells are stem cells that can be used as regenerative medicine treatments in the person from whom the blastula or blastocyst was made. —David Warmflash, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2016

The new egg cell can be triggered to act as a fertilized egg, producing a blastula whose cells are clones of the donor of the nucleus. —David Warmflash, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2016

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin (in a German context), from Greek blastós "shoot, bud, embryo" + New Latin -ula (as in gastrula, planula) — more at -blast

Note: Term apparently introduced by the Russian zoologist and embryologist Vladimir Vladimirovič Zalenskij ("W. Salensky," 1847-1918) in "Bemerkungen über Haeckel's Gastraea-Theorie," Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 40. Jahrgang, 1. Band (1874), p. 162.

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

blastula

noun

blas·​tu·​la ˈblas-chə-lə 

plural blastulas

-ləz

or blastulae -ˌlē 

: an early embryo typically having the form of a hollow fluid-filled rounded cavity bounded by a single layer of cells compare gastrula

Medical Definition

blastula

noun

blas·​tu·​la ˈblas-chə-lə 

plural blastulas or blastulae -ˌlē 

: an early metazoan embryo typically having the form of a hollow fluid-filled rounded cavity bounded by a single layer of cells compare gastrula, morula

blastular

-lər 

adjective

blastulation

ˌblas-chə-ˈlā-shən 

noun