| name: | Blighted Ovum |
| also known as: | Blighted Ova |
| also see: | Pregnancy |
| description: | The ovum is the female sex cell, whereas the sperm is the equivalent male sex cell. During fertilization, a single sperm penetraates the ovum creating a fertilized egg, which then begins the process of cell division, one half the DNA from the maternal egg and one half the DNA from the fraternal sperm. A series of divisions leads to a cellular ball called a blastocyst which is what implants into the uterus lining giving rise to the placenta and the fetus. A blighted ovum is essentially a fetilized gestational sac that lacks a fetal pole and therefore can not go on to develop into a fetus (baby). Blighted basically means the gestational sac is empty. |
Last updated December 1, 2001