blastula

[ blas-chuh-luh ]

noun

, Embryology.

, plural blas·tu·las, blas·tu·lae [blas, -ch, uh, -lee].

1. the early developmental stage of an animal, following the morula stage and consisting of a single, spherical layer of cells enclosing a hollow, central cavity.

blastula

/ ˈblæstjʊlə /

noun

1. an early form of an animal embryo that develops from a morula, consisting of a sphere of cells with a central cavity Also calledblastosphere

blastula

/ blăs′chə-lə /

, Plural blastulas blăs′chə-lē′

1. An animal embryo at the stage immediately following the division of the fertilized egg cell, consisting of a ball-shaped layer of cells around a fluid-filled cavity known as a blastocoel.
2. Compare gastrulaSee also blastocyst

blastula

1. The stage of an embryo that consists of just over a hundred cells — a stage reached about one week after fertilization . At this stage the cells are just at the very beginning of cellular differentiation and are said to be totipotent ( See totipotency ).

Notes

This is the stage of development where embryonic stems cells can be harvested for medical research.

Derived Forms

• ˈblastular, adjective

Other Words From

• blastu·lar adjective
• blas·tu·la·tion [blas-ch, uh, -, ley, -sh, uh, n], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of blastula¹

1885–90; < New Latin < Greek blast ( ós ) bud, sprout + New Latin -ula -ule

Word History and Origins

Origin of blastula¹

C19: New Latin; see blasto-

Example Sentences

On the first screen I thought I saw a chick or a frog taking shape, though the creature would palpitate into an egg, a lumpen lime or a blastula of germinating cells.

From New York Times

But before you can say blastula, his wife — he begins by calling her Clo, then just goes with her real name, Jen — is crying all the time and sending all-caps texts about pretzels.

From New York Times

Ryden has peopled Ratmansky’s stage with furry animals that look like fairground prizes, a gum-ball lady resembling a blastula, and various creatures that slither on the floor and wag their ears.

From The New Yorker

Just after this—at the mid-late blastula stage—the cells synthesize large RNA molecules, which are believed not to include ribosomal RNA but which are likely to include "messenger" RNA.

From Scientific American

In removing a blastula, you are indeed destroying something, but what exactly — a potential life?

From Time