Say Hello to the Human Egg

1. caitlin13
   June 14th, 2008 at 2:27 am

   Whoa. A little warning next time?

2. bec
   June 14th, 2008 at 2:34 am

   Oh, wow. Yikes. Ewww. Ick.

3. Mike L
   June 14th, 2008 at 2:36 am

   Yeah, can you put that behind some sort of cut, or add a warning? While interesting, it's also a little 'Ew'

4. Kateri
   June 14th, 2008 at 2:54 am

   This makes my ovaries hurt.

5. Alex
   June 14th, 2008 at 2:54 am

   Warning? Where's the fun, then?

6. Bruno
   June 14th, 2008 at 3:37 am

   Er... I think we all need a unicorn picture now!!!

7. Parker
   June 14th, 2008 at 4:15 am

   ...'so he whipped out his camera mid-surgery'.

   I didn't think it was that big before fertilization!

8. Edward
   June 14th, 2008 at 4:54 am

   Let be the first to say, "Thank-you." What a stunning bit of good luck!

   To answer Parker's questions:
   The egg is at the center of that yellow mass. It is big when compared to other cells, but not that large.

   The surgeon likely uses a camera for the procedure. He might even have a video of the entire ovulation.

9. SenorMysterioso
   June 14th, 2008 at 6:05 am

   Neat

   Isnt an egg the largest cell in a human body

10. ted
    June 14th, 2008 at 6:24 am

    I have no idea of the scale.

11. inna
    June 14th, 2008 at 6:47 am

    i guess i won't be eating any caviar for a while. anyone else think "salmon roe" when they see this?

12. VitaminCM
    June 14th, 2008 at 6:54 am

    That's pretty gross!

13. fz
    June 14th, 2008 at 7:10 am

    "Whoa. A little warning next time?"

    Please

14. John P.
    June 14th, 2008 at 8:14 am

    Gee... I *really* wish there had been a warning on that picture. I think I am going to have nightmares (and I thought the Rat King was freaky). No joke.

15. Pol x
    June 14th, 2008 at 8:22 am

    it is fine and a marvellous article.

    Catholic University? Human reproduction?

    as the song goes "There may be trouble ahead"

16. web design company
    June 14th, 2008 at 8:22 am

    More details about this valuable photo that was caught by accident
    http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg ...
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7447942.stm

17. prophet
    June 14th, 2008 at 8:44 am

    I'm sorry. That's gross.

18. Jeesus
    June 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am

    A hysterectomy on an ovulating woman is murder... and every sperm is sacred.

19. NeuroGirl
    June 14th, 2008 at 9:19 am

    I'm surprised that so many people are grossed out by those pictures. It's just a follicle and an egg. Personally, I think it's a little sad that this woman is getting a hysterectomy and pictures of her ovulating are floating around the internet.

20. dontknow
    June 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am

    I don't care if it's gross. It's pretty amazing to see something that happens in my body every month looking totally different than I'd thought. Very interesting, doesn't need a warning as far as I'm concerned.

21. quinnnchick
    June 14th, 2008 at 9:31 am

    Geez people, it's not like there is blood and gore in the picture. It is a picture of how ALL of us started out. I think it was awesome good luck to be able to witness this. Thanks for sharing Neatorama!!

22. Thomas
    June 14th, 2008 at 10:05 am

    Fascinating? Sure. Gross? Absofrickinlutely.

23. dennvp
    June 14th, 2008 at 10:20 am

    so we came from that little thing??

24. Christophe
    June 14th, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Nice way to put it quinnchick.

25. AnUnSi
    June 14th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    "That, my friend, is what you and I and everyone else in this world started out as: the human oocyte."

    Uh, no, my friend. None of us "starts out" as an oocyte, because a mere human ovum is not a human being. When the ovum is fertilized by a sperm (i.e., at conception), THAT is when "you and I and everyone else in this world start out" (and, by the way, begin to have the right to life).

    I was sad to see that some people were troubled/"grossed out" by the harmless photos, but I was even more sad to see that no one corrected the only truly disgusting thing in this thread -- the ignorant, anti-Catholic comments made by "Pol x."

    Not only did Pol X reveal an ignorance that Catholicism and every good and holy aspect of the human body are totally compatible, but he/she did not know that human beings don't "reproduce" (as lower animals and plants do). Human beings "procreate;" spouses cooperate with God (who creates an immortal soul) to bring into being a new human being at conception.

    God bless you all (including Pol x).

26. CheeseDuck
    June 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Uh. Uh. Uh. What?

27. Ajan
    June 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    simply eeeeeeeeew!

28. Joe Red
    June 14th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    Fantastic pictures. I'm surprised so many people think they're disgusting, but maybe it's just that the Internet has conditioned me not to be shocked by anything.

29. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
    June 14th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    "Uh, no, my friend. None of us “starts out” as an oocyte, because a mere human ovum is not a human being. When the ovum is fertilized by a sperm (i.e., at conception), THAT is when “you and I and everyone else in this world start out” (and, by the way, begin to have the right to life)."

    So, magically, the fertilized egg comes into being, with no history. It was never just an oocyte.

    Great logic you've got going there. Was the universe also created in seven days?

30. kat
    June 14th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    and that is exactly why i don't eat eggs...

31. The Slapster
    June 14th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

    "Human beings “procreate;” spouses cooperate with God (who creates an immortal soul) to bring into being a new human being at conception."
    Yeah, maybe YOUR god. But please - don't drag your belief system into my frequent occurence of good old hibbity bibbity.

32. tripleX
    June 14th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Ah, so that's the place all my little friends try to run to and hangout every night! Looks like a classy joint, with that golden honeydrop-look.

33. Max Dusseldorf
    June 14th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

    Just for info: The Catholic University of Louvain is in Louvain, not Brussels. And it's not that Catholic really.

34. Michelle
    June 14th, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    First reaction: Whoa.

    That's rather fascinating though. I never thought of what ovulation actually looked like. Wow.

35. Ali S.
    June 14th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

    Now that is amazing. Not gross!

36. aware
    June 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    well, they must have been wearing those super-high-power magnification goggles...

    wikipedia tells me that the human egg is 100 to 200 micrometers in diameter.

    200 micrometers is 0.02 milimeters, or 0.007874 inches. (thanks, Internets)

    but yeah, human eggs look a lot like caviar. perhaps less gamey tasting, though. i'll never know.

    the bbc article has more info, and it will tickle your anglophilic tendencies. full stop.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7447942.stm

    when the egg exits the follicle, it is "surrounded by a jelly-like substance containing cells. [so, that big yellow thing is its cushiony clothing, not just the egg]

    The egg itself is only the size of a full-stop, and the whole ovary, which contains many immature eggs, just a couple of inches long."

37. Lea
    June 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    Has anyone here been to the "Bodies!" exhibit? The last part on reproduction is what this reminded me of.

    And that's not that gross. In the exhibit, there's an ovary with a burst cyst on it. THAT is TERRYFYING thing to see, especially when you have had 3+.

    This...is normal. And amazing.

38. rissu
    June 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pm

    oh dear... just love the catholic rhetoric comment above... glad i gave up catholicism for lent... snicker

    cool pic though

39. Mr. Binky
    June 14th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    Guys, it's THE INSIDES OF A BODY, all of which are PRETTY GROSS. I don't care what it does, but insides are going to be nasty.

    Please don't post any more gross stuff on the front page, have people click through. Seriously.

40. DOJ
    June 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    if i didnt'e know what it was, that 4th picture would be a cool desktop background at 1024x768

41. sam
    June 14th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    @AnUnSi: I wrote a whole response to your comment, but have deleted it because it is so far out there and ridiculous it doesn't even warrant a direct response. Believe me, I could write a dissertation on how big of an idiot you are.

    Let's have a contest to see who can come up with the most pointless semantic arguments. A semantic arguments contest. A argusematest!

42. Goylegirl
    June 14th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

    Hey Mr. Blinky! You no like, you no have to read.

    Hey religious nuts! Get over it.

    Hey people who are grossed out! Get over it.

    Hey everyone else! Isn't the human body cool!?

43. Larfin Jackarse
    June 14th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    Please....think of the children.

44. erin
    June 15th, 2008 at 12:29 am

    Gross? No, it's beautiful!

45. your_mum_goes_to_college
    June 15th, 2008 at 12:44 am

    @ AnUnSi's comment:
    PuhLEASE! Spare us!

46. Johnny Cat
    June 15th, 2008 at 1:01 am

    Interesting comments on such a trivial yet fascinating post.

47. MoonCake
    June 15th, 2008 at 6:53 am

    definitely caught me completely off-guard, but it's not that gross considering what comes after that egg floats down... i've seen worse things on the OUTSIDE of my body (i opened a door on my toe a couple weeks ago and it tore off my toe-nail. THAT was gross). i was always told that eggs are literally the size of a pin-head. but it's very neat to think we started out as THAT! thanks, alex!

48. ted
    June 15th, 2008 at 9:40 am

    You have a door on your toe? Where does it lead to?

    Anunsi's comments started out correctly - we are a combination of an egg and a seed, and not just the egg.

    As for "reproducing" and "procreation", the difference is the amateur creators are doing it for the love of the sport; the pro creators do it for a living.

49. peep
    June 15th, 2008 at 9:53 am

    fuck all catholics

50. MidwestMedic
    June 15th, 2008 at 11:07 am

    These pictures are great. Not disgusting at all. I'd actually like to see pics of cysts for comparison. A friend of mine recently had 10 folicles at once (undergoing fertility treatments) a pic like those above make it obvious why she was in a lot of pain!

51. Ronnie
    June 15th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    What exactly about these pictures is so offensive?

52. Emmy
    June 15th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    Hey, peep, you're worse than they are if you say stuff like that.

    Though I do think the fact that he said there would be trouble studying human reproduction at a Catholic University is stupid and kind of offensive, the all-out Catholic post was a little much.

53. heather
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:02 am

    Anyone who thinks those images are gross has the emotional maturity of an 7th grade boy.

54. DanO
    June 16th, 2008 at 7:54 am

    WI thought it was disgusting. I'm not a biology major or a parent so I don't really like to think of ovulation.

55. Mr. Binky
    June 16th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    Re: Goylegirl

    I don't like to check out gross stuff, so I shouldn't read Neatorama? Ok! That makes sense.

    This is almost equivalent to getting goatse'd

56. Goylegirl
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    RE: Mr. Blinky

    That would be my point exactly. Glad you caught on.

    

57. f
    June 16th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

    Where's the sperms

58. violet
    June 17th, 2008 at 2:26 am

    Geez people. You know, if those photos were just of a bizarre rainforest plant or something, nobody would be freaking out, and believe me, there's some gross-looking but fascinating stuff in the natural world.

    It seems to be that because it's a part of a female reproductive system, people are finding it scandalous. It feels weirdly puritanical. Honestly, if you didn't know what it was, you'd see it as what it is: a strange and interesting photo of a natural organism.

59. Baiter
    June 17th, 2008 at 4:47 am

    Oh great, I'll be thinking of this the next time I'm lickin' snatch.

    I know it's natural, but still. Makes me wonder what that thing must smell like.

60. James Tracy
    June 19th, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    Why don't we all have another debate about religion and procreation!?!? Sounds like fun!

    Seriously, believe whatever you want to believe (religion or science) but keep it to yourself - don't press it on anyone else. Nobody likes this shit - it's old, and none of us want to read it anymore.

    This probably could have used a warning, but it really doesn't matter - it's safe for work, and pretty interesting. I, for one, am not bothered by it.

61. Trob159
    November 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am

    I wasn't grossed out by the pics. Just a bit taken back & wide-eyed when I saw it. A warning that the pics are "graphic" would have been appreciated. I still would have looked at the pics but would have been prepared. Anyway, whether you "procreate", are "fruitful & multiply", or "reproduce" it's an amazing thing! Thanks for posting them.

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