merocyten.
/ˈmɛrə(ʊ)sʌɪt/, U.S. /ˈmɛrəˌsaɪt/ Biology.
A cell or nucleus formed by division in a meroblastic ovum; spec. any of numerous small nuclei formed by the repeated division of supernumerary sperm nuclei in fertilized eggs, esp. those of birds, reptiles, and selachian fishes.
ΚΠ
1888 Amer. Naturalist 22 755 The yolk membrane is..a provisional structure the function of which is, like that of the periblast or merocytes in fish ova, for the purpose of appropriating the yolk substance.
1892 Amer. Naturalist 26 967 Dr. J. Rückert has advanced a most interesting explanation of the origin of the..merocyte nuclei of meroblastic vertebrate ova... He was struck by their apparent identity with the male pronucleus.
1928 E. B. Wilson Cell (ed. 3) v. 417 The supernumerary sperm-nuclei may enlarge, assume a vesicular form and divide repeatedly by mitosis, thus giving rise to numerous small nuclei (merocytes).
1991 Environmental Biol. Fishes 32 237/1 The interior surface of the yolk sac cortex is lined with a layer of cells, the most abundant type of which tentatively is identified as a merocyte.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1888