What are "oocytes" or "eggs"?

What are "oocytes" or "eggs"?

Richard Paulson (Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, USC) gives expert video advice on: How are my eggs collected for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using my own eggs for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization? and more...

The fertility equation consists of eggs and sperm coming together to make an embryo, the embryo then implanting, and after implantation producing a fetus. So the most important part of this equation is the egg. Even though fifty percent of the genes come from the mother and fifty percent of the genes come from the father, in the dance of fertilization, or in the dance of love that results in the production of a fetus, the egg is by far and away more important primarily because it is so much bigger than the sperm. So the term "oocyte" is used for the egg (that's the Latin form of the word) and oocytes, or eggs, grow incide the follicles, which are grape-like structures on the surface of the ovary, and they mature there prior to being ovulated and being picked up by the end of the fallopian tube. So the development of eggs in the ovary also makes it possible for us to do IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) because it turns out that for about two hours or so prior to the time of normal ovulation, the egg can be retrieved from the ovary by placing a hollow needle through the wall of the follicle and sucking out the liquid that is in the follicle, and thereby getting the egg into the laboratory, and then being able to go on and fertilize it. But the egg is the most important player in this game.