Definition
noun, plural: spermatozoa
A mature male gamete or reproductive cell; sperm cell.
Supplement
A single sperm cell or spermatozoon consists of a round or cylindrical nucleated cell, a short neck, and a thin motile tail. Its structure is vital to its mobility and function (i.e. sexual reproduction). The compacted nucleus contains half of the genetic information. It fuses with an ovum (the female gamete) to form a zygote. In mammals, the sex is determined by the sperm cell. If it bears Y chromosome, the resulting offspring is a male. If X chromosome, the offspring is a female.
Word origin: Greek, from sperma, spermat-, seed + New Latin –zōon, from Greek zōion, zōon, living being.
Related forms: spermatozoal, spermatozoic (adjective).
Variant: spermatozoan.
Also called: sperm cell, zoosperm.
Dictionary > Spermatozoon
You will also like...
Primitive Animals
Life, as we know it today, is presumed to have started in the sea and many of them were likely eukaryotic animal-like or..
Plant Tissues
Plant organs are comprised of tissues working together for a common function. The different types of plant tissues are m..
Chemical Composition of the Body
The body is comprised of different elements with hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen as the major four. This tutorial..
The Central Nervous System
Myelin sheath is essential for a faster conductivity of signals. Know more about this feature of some neurons in the Cen..
Adaptive Radiation
The diversification of several new species from a recent ancestral source, each adapted to utilize or occupy a vacant ad..
A Balanced Vitamin Diet – Vitamins A – K
A balanced diet is essential to a healthy organism. Insufficiency or too much of a particular element or compound, such ..