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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

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