blastula

[ blas-chuh-luh ]
See synonyms for blastula on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural blas·tu·las, blas·tu·lae [blas-chuh-lee]. /ˈblæs tʃəˌli/. Embryology.
  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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Origin of blastula

1
1885–90; <New Latin <Greek blast(ós) bud, sprout + New Latin -ula-ule

Other words from blastula

  • blas·tu·lar, adjective
  • blas·tu·la·tion [blas-chuh-ley-shuhn], /ˌblæs tʃəˈleɪ ʃən/, noun

Words Nearby blastula

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blastula in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for blastula

blastula

/ (ˈblæstjʊlə) /


nounplural -las or -lae (-liː)
  1. an early form of an animal embryo that develops from a morula, consisting of a sphere of cells with a central cavity: Also called: blastosphere

Origin of blastula

1
C19: New Latin; see blasto-

Derived forms of blastula

  • blastular, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for blastula

blastula

[ blăschə-lə ]


Plural blastulas blastulae (blăschə-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. Compare gastrula. See also blastocyst.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for blastula

blastula

[ (blas-chuh-luh) ]


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 for blastula

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.