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  • Print publication year: 2020
  • Online publication date: December 2019

Chapter 5 - First Stages of Development

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After completing fertilization with fusion of the pronuclei during syngamy, the zygote now has a diploid complement of chromosomes, undergoes its first mitotic division and then continues to divide by mitosis into a number of smaller cells known as blastomeres. In humans, the first few cleavage divisions take place in the oviduct, before the embryo reaches its site of implantation in the uterus (Figure 5.1).

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