acrosome
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Related to acrosome: cortical granule
ac·ro·some
(ăk′rə-sōm′)n.
A caplike structure at the anterior end of a spermatozoon that produces enzymes aiding in egg penetration.
ac′ro·so′mal (-sō′məl) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
acrosome
(ˈækrəˌsəʊm)n
(Physiology) a cap-like structure on the tip of a spermatozoon that releases enzymes on encountering the ovum allowing fusion with the ovum in the sexual reproductive process; this part of the process is known as the acrosome reaction
[C19: from acro- + -some3]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ac•ro•some
(ˈæk rəˌsoʊm)n.
an organelle covering the head of animal sperm and containing enzymes that digest the egg cell coating, thus permitting the sperm to enter the egg.
ac`ro•so′mal, adj.
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Noun | 1. | ![]() sperm, sperm cell, spermatozoan, spermatozoon - the male reproductive cell; the male gamete; "a sperm is mostly a nucleus surrounded by little other cellular material" |
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