The Egg

The contents of the follicle are placed on a warmed stage under a microscope where the embryologists search through the follicular fluid for the eggs.

As can be seen in this picture, the egg is surrounded by a large number of small cells referred to as the corona radiata. An outer membrane, the zona pellucida, also surrounds the egg. The inside of the egg contains cytoplasm with a large number of organelles, proteins and other factors which are thought to be very important for egg viability. This picture represents a mature egg as is evidenced by the polar body which contains half of the egg's DNA, located at the 12 o'clock position.

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