a cluster of follicle cells that surround a freshly ovulated ovum. By increasing the effective size of the ovum they may assist its entrance into the end of the Fallopian tube. They are dispersed at fertilization by the contents of the *acrosome.
n. the process by which an ovum is released from a mature *Graafian follicle. The fluid-filled follicle distends the surface of the ovary until a thin spot breaks down and the ovum floats out surrounded by a cluster of follicle cells (the cumulus oophoricus) and starts to travel down the Fallopian tube to the uterus. Ovulation is stimulated by the secretion of *luteinizing hormone by the anterior pituitary gland.... ovulation
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