blastula

American  

[blas-chuh-luh] / ˈblæs tʃə lə /

noun

Embryology.

plural

blastulas, blastulae

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.

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blastula British  

/ ˈblæstjʊlə /

noun

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

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blastula Scientific  

/ blăs′chə-lə /

plural

blastulas

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 gastrula See also blastocyst

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blastula Cultural  

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).

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Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

• blastular adjective
• blastulation noun

Etymology

Origin of blastula

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

Compare meaning

How does blastula compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• morula vs. blastula
• blastula vs. blastocyst
• blastula vs. gastrula

Example Sentences

Once you are confident about your identification, begin to record the stage of each cell you encounter as you scan left to right, and top to bottom across the blastula section.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

After the cleavage has produced over 100 cells, the embryo is called a blastula.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Background: A prepared microscope slide of blastula cross-sections will show cells arrested in various stages of the cell cycle.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Further cleavage results in a hollow ball of cells called a blastula.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The combined force of all these vibrating lashes causes the whole blastula to move about in a rotatory fashion.

From The Evolution of Man — Volume 1 by Haeckel, Ernst Heinrich Philipp August