fecundation

Malpighi and his school contended that the perfect animal is already “preformed” in the germ; for example, the hen’s egg, before fecundation, containing an excessively minute, but complete, chick.

Germs are visible in the ovum before fecundation; in these germs the very primordia of future organization can be distinguished.

After fecundation the ovum is pushed on into the uterus in from five to seven days, where it fastens to the wall and develops.

It is hardly possible to ascertain how many of these ova are capable of fecundation.

It is essentially necessary for fecundation that the spermatozoa should come into actual contact with the ovum.