Embryo:
An egg is discharged into the fallopian tube from an ovary once per month.
The cell lining of the fallopian tube aids in fertilisation, which takes place there.
- Following the sexual activity, sperm travel from the vagina through the uterus and cervix to the fallopian tubes, where one sperm penetrates the egg and causes fertilisation of the egg.
- The microscopic hair-like cilia lining the fallopian tube move the fertilised egg or zygote toward the uterus.
- The zygote or fertilised egg divides numerous times as it travels via the fallopian tube to the uterus.
- A zygote needs 3 to 5 days to enter the uterus.
- The cells in the uterus continue to divide, creating a hollow cell ball known as a blastocyst.
- A few days after conception, the blastocyst implants in the uterine wall and grows into an embryo that is surrounded by fluid-filled membranes and linked to a placenta. Implantation is the process, and it lasts 9 to 10 days.
- The inner cells in the thickened region of the zygote form the embryo, and the outer cells penetrate the uterine wall and grow into the placenta. The placenta produces a number of hormones that aid in sustaining pregnancy.
- If that egg is not fertilised, it descends from the fallopian tube into the uterus.
- It degenerates in the uterus and is expelled with the subsequent menstrual cycle.