A polar body is a small, non-functional cell that forms alongside the egg during the process of meiosis, the type of cell division that produces eggs and sperm. It contains excess chromosomes that are not needed by the egg and ensures that the egg ends up with the correct number of chromosomes for fertilization.
A single polar body indicates that an egg is mature and ready to be fertilized. During fertilization, a second polar body is seen as the egg completes meiosis.
Modified fromย Ghevaria et al. (2022),ย CC by 4.0