Gamete: Definition, Function & Types - A Comprehensive Guide

The medical term for "germ or sex cell" is "gamete". Gametes are specialised reproductive cells that contain half the genetic material needed to form a new organism through fertilisation. They are haploid cells, meaning that they have only one set of chromosomes. Gametes are produced through a process called meiosis, in which the chromosomes in a cell are duplicated and then divided equally into four daughter cells. Two types of gametes exist: sperm and ova. Sperm are the male gametes, produced in the testes, while ova are the female gametes, produced in the ovaries.