MCAT Question A Day - 7/12/14 - Answer!
Which of the following does NOT describe cleavage in human embryos?
A. The solid ball of cells produced during cleavage is called a morula.
B. The size of the embryo remains constant throughout the cell divisions of cleavage.
C. Cell division occurs in one portion of the egg in meroblastic cleavage.
D. Daughter cells are genetically identical to parent cells.
C is correct. Mammalian eggs undergo holoblastic cleavage where division occurs throughout the whole egg. At first glance, this question appears to ask for somewhat obscure knowledge about meroblastic cleavage. However, you should be able to eliminate A, B, and D quite easily as being part of human embryonic cleavage, so it is unnecessary to know meroblastic or holoblastic cleavage.
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C is correct. Mammalian eggs undergo holoblastic cleavage where division occurs throughout the whole egg. At first glance, this question appears to ask for somewhat obscure knowledge about meroblastic cleavage. However, you should be able to eliminate A, B, and D quite easily as being part of human embryonic cleavage, so it is unnecessary to know meroblastic or holoblastic cleavage.
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