a fluid-filled vesicle in the mammalian ovary containing a developing egg cell
Word origin
C17: named after R. de Graaf (1641–73), Dutch anatomist
Graafian follicle in American English
(ˈgræfiən; ˈgrɑfiən) or ˈGraafian vesicle (ˈgræfiən; ˈgrɑfiən)
any of the small, round, fluid-filled sacs in the ovary of higher mammals, each of which contains a maturing ovum surrounded by hormone-secreting cells