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zona pellucida
A tough transparent membrane surrounding the ovum. It is penetrated by the sperm during fertilization. It is also known as ZP.
Grammatical category Noun
Field Anatomy, physiology and embryology
Level of specialization High
Definition source National Library of Medicine
Gender relationship Yes, woman
Variants
Synonym
egg coat
Standard
egg shell
Formal
glycoprotein shell
Formal
zona matrix
Formal
Abbreviation
ZP
Formal
Equivalents

Spanish

ZP
zona pelúcida
Associated concepts
Type of
extracellular matrix
Examples
Eventually, the zona pellucida develops a crack through which the blastocyst begins hatching, ultimately leaving the zona pellucida after multiple collapsing movements.
For successful implantation, the blastocyst must hatch from the zona pellucida to interact with the endometrium.
Collocations
WITH VERBS
zona pellucida develops 
penetrate | cross || release | leave | open the zona pellucida
WITH ADJECTIVES
proportionate | homogeneous | protective | intact || spherical zona pellucida