noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
Biological term for the female reproductive cell. Used in medical, scientific, and educational contexts.
When an ovum and a sperm fertilize, a new life begins.
In in vitro fertilization, the egg cell is fertilized outside the body.
They retrieved eggs for in-vitro fertilization.
Egg cells decline in quality as a woman ages.
The egg and sperm unite to become a fertilized egg.
卵 is the everyday word for an egg (e.g. a chicken egg you eat), while 卵子 is the technical term for the female reproductive cell specifically.
卵子 is an egg cell before fertilization, whereas 受精卵 is the same cell after it has been fertilized.
Compound of 卵 (ran, 'egg') and 子 (shi, 'child' or 'small thing'), a Sino-Japanese term for the female reproductive cell.