Yorgos Nikas (2011) CIL:38957, Homo sapiens, egg, follicle cell. CIL. Dataset

A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a human egg, which is the huge cell colored yellow at the bottom of this image. The follicle cells that surround it (top) send out long projections that penetrate through the tough outer coating (the zona pellucida) into the egg cell itself giving it the nourishment it needs to develop to maturity. Even when the egg is released from the ovary at ovulation it remains surrounded by a cloud of follicle cells that only gradually fall away as the egg progresses along the Fallopian tube.

一幅经过着色的扫描电子显微镜图像，展现了人类卵子的形态。图中底部巨大的黄色细胞即为该卵子。围绕卵子的卵泡细胞（顶部）延伸出长长的突起，穿透坚韧的外层包膜（透明带），深入卵细胞内部，为其提供发育至成熟所需的滋养。即便在排卵时卵子从卵巢释放，它仍被一层卵泡细胞的云雾所包围，这些细胞随着卵子在输卵管中的移动而逐渐脱落。