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How does fertilisation occur in human beings ? |
Fertilisation normally takes place in the mother's Fallopian tube, which connects the uterus (womb) with the ovary. The uterus is the size and shape of a large pear: it is made of muscle and it stretches to allow the baby's growth throughout the months of pregnancy.A woman ordinarily has two tubes and two ovaries, one at each side of her uterus. Every month one of the ovaries in turn releases an egg (ovum) which passes slowly along the tube towards the womb cavity. If the egg is not fertilized within 12 hours or so of being released, it dies; it cannot develop further .Scientifically speaking, however, fertilization is simply the moment at which a male sperm enters the female egg, creating a zygote. After fertilization, the egg is no longer an egg and the sperm is no longer a sperm. Instead, both cells have joined together to create a totally new entity. When fertilisation is completed and the nuclei of egg and sperm have combined, a new being comes into existence and is capable of further development. Because the parents are human - belonging to the species Homo sapiens - the new being is also human. Fertilisation (by which we mean conception) marks the beginning of the human lifespan. |