{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.egg-cell","code":"thing-q1321695","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1321695/","name":"egg cell","alternateNames":["male egg"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The egg cell (ovum) is the non-motile female gamete of oogamous organisms: a large, cytoplasm-rich germ cell produced by oogenesis that, at the fertilizable stage, fuses with a sperm to form a zygote and supplies the maternal genome, mitochondria and most of the zygote's cytoplasm.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise an egg cell, assess its developmental and physical state, and identify which observations or interventions are appropriate under the applicable biological and governance constraints.","scope":{"in":["Identification of an individual egg cell and its organism of origin","Oocyte or ovum terminology and developmental stage in the relevant organism","Cell contents, coverings and associated cells needed to interpret condition","Evidence about integrity, viability and fertilisation competence","Collection, culture, storage, preservation and handling history","Permitted interventions and transition to a fertilised-cell model"],"out":["The donor organism's overall reproductive health and clinical care","Ovarian follicles and reproductive organs as independently managed structures","Sperm cells and their independent quality assessment","Zygote and embryo development after the model's fertilisation boundary","Whole laid eggs, including shell, albumen and other packaging","Laboratory equipment, treatment plans and consent instruments as independent entities"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Require evidence identifying the entity as a female germ cell in its organism's reproductive system; shape or size alone does not distinguish it from a somatic cell.","Distinguish the individual cell from a follicle or cell complex by locating the egg-cell boundary and recording which surrounding structures remain attached.","Distinguish an egg cell from a whole laid egg by identifying whether the record concerns the cell itself or the larger reproductive package.","Distinguish maturation stages using organism-appropriate evidence rather than treating every object labelled 'egg' as a mature ovum.","Distinguish an unfertilised egg cell from a fertilised or activated cell using recorded observations and an explicit transition criterion."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"egg-cell-identity","name":"Egg-cell identity","description":"Establishes what entity is being called an egg cell and which biological interpretation applies.","layers":[{"id":"biological-identification","name":"Biological identification","description":"Connects identification to organism-specific evidence and terminology.","findings":[{"id":"identity-evidence","name":"Identity evidence","description":"Record the basis for identifying this specimen as an egg cell and retain uncertainty in that identification.","questions":[{"text":"What observations or source records identify this entity as an egg cell rather than another germ cell or a somatic cell?","id":"identity-evidence-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which organism and reproductive context support that identification?","id":"identity-evidence-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"cell-and-surroundings","name":"Cell and surroundings","description":"Separates the cell from attached structures and reproductive packaging.","findings":[{"id":"physical-referent","name":"Physical referent","description":"Record what belongs to the cell record and what is represented through related structures.","questions":[{"text":"Does this record identify an individual cell, a cell with associated coverings or cells, or a larger structure incorrectly labelled as the cell?","id":"physical-referent-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which coverings or associated cells are present, and were any removed during preparation?","id":"physical-referent-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"egg-cell-maturation","name":"Egg-cell maturation","description":"Records developmental designation, meiotic evidence and readiness for stage-dependent actions.","layers":[{"id":"developmental-stage","name":"Developmental stage","description":"Interprets maturation using the relevant organism's classification.","findings":[{"id":"stage-assignment","name":"Stage assignment","description":"Record the assigned stage, the evidence supporting it and any limits of observation.","questions":[{"text":"Which developmental and meiotic stages are assigned under the selected organism-specific classification?","id":"stage-assignment-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What observable features or assays support those assignments, and when were they assessed?","id":"stage-assignment-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"maturation-readiness","name":"Maturation readiness","description":"Separates stage classification from evidence of functional readiness.","findings":[{"id":"readiness-for-next-step","name":"Readiness for the next step","description":"Record which maturation requirements a proposed intervention depends on and whether each is established.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence supports cytoplasmic or other functional maturation beyond the assigned meiotic stage?","id":"readiness-for-next-step-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which maturation prerequisites remain unmet or unknown for the proposed culture, preservation or fertilisation step?","id":"readiness-for-next-step-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"egg-cell-condition","name":"Egg-cell condition","description":"Organises observations of structure, damage, viability and functional potential.","layers":[{"id":"structural-observations","name":"Structural observations","description":"Captures interpretable measurements of the cell and its relevant structures.","findings":[{"id":"morphology-and-integrity","name":"Morphology and integrity","description":"Record dimensions and visible condition using explicit measurement boundaries and assessment methods.","questions":[{"text":"What are the measured cell dimensions, and do those measurements include any coverings?","id":"morphology-and-integrity-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What membrane, cytoplasmic or covering abnormalities were observed, using which method and at what time?","id":"morphology-and-integrity-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"functional-assessment","name":"Functional assessment","description":"Keeps viability and reproductive competence distinct and evidence-bound.","findings":[{"id":"competence-evidence","name":"Competence evidence","description":"Record what each assessment establishes, what it merely predicts and what remains unknown.","questions":[{"text":"Which observations or assays support viability, and which separately support maturation or fertilisation competence?","id":"competence-evidence-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which proposed actions are justified by that evidence, and which require further assessment?","id":"competence-evidence-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"egg-cell-handling","name":"Egg-cell handling","description":"Tracks identity through collection and manipulation and relates current condition to handling exposures.","layers":[{"id":"collection-and-continuity","name":"Collection and continuity","description":"Maintains the connection between the individual cell, its source and subsequent observations.","findings":[{"id":"specimen-continuity","name":"Specimen continuity","description":"Record collection and transfers without claiming individual continuity when only a group was tracked.","questions":[{"text":"From which organism, tissue or source sample was the cell obtained, and by which collection procedure?","id":"specimen-continuity-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Was this individual tracked continuously, or do any observations apply only to its collection group?","id":"specimen-continuity-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"culture-and-preservation","name":"Culture and preservation","description":"Records exposures and interventions relevant to interpreting the current cell state.","findings":[{"id":"handling-dependent-state","name":"Handling-dependent state","description":"Link culture, preservation and manipulation events to applicable protocols and subsequent assessments.","questions":[{"text":"What media, temperatures, durations, preservation cycles and manipulations are documented for this cell?","id":"handling-dependent-state-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which protocol and post-handling observations support the next proposed manipulation?","id":"handling-dependent-state-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"egg-cell-action-and-transition","name":"Egg-cell action and transition","description":"Determines permissible next steps and recognises when the entity leaves egg-cell scope.","layers":[{"id":"intervention-eligibility","name":"Intervention eligibility","description":"Connects a proposed use to biological prerequisites and applicable permissions.","findings":[{"id":"permitted-next-intervention","name":"Permitted next intervention","description":"Record the decision basis for an intervention through linked protocols and authorisation records.","questions":[{"text":"What biological prerequisites must be met for the proposed observation, maturation, preservation, fertilisation or other use?","id":"permitted-next-intervention-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which linked authorisations and use restrictions apply to this cell and the proposed intervention?","id":"permitted-next-intervention-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"fertilisation-and-activation-boundary","name":"Fertilisation and activation boundary","description":"Separates attempted procedures from observed biological transitions.","findings":[{"id":"transition-evidence","name":"Transition evidence","description":"Record fertilisation and activation evidence separately and apply an explicit ownership boundary.","questions":[{"text":"What observations establish or leave uncertain fertilisation and activation following any attempted procedure?","id":"transition-evidence-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which organism-specific criterion transfers this entity to a fertilised-cell or embryo model, and has that criterion been met?","id":"transition-evidence-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of egg cell this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe egg cells and oogenesis from biology and medical sources.","Track, label and log stored human eggs in a fertility laboratory under authorized staff instructions."],"mustNot":["Use, transfer or destroy human eggs without the documented consent of the person who provided them.","Mix up, mislabel or misreport the origin of stored eggs.","Present fertility outcomes or egg quality as certain when they are not.","Disclose a person's fertility treatment or donor status without consent."],"requiresHuman":["Any decision to use, donate, store beyond its term or discard human eggs.","Matching donated eggs with recipients."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Human eggs are bound up with reproductive autonomy and identity; consent governs every use.","Egg donation raises concerns about payment, pressure on donors and donor-conceived people's right to know their origins."],"affectedParties":["Egg providers and donors","Intended parents","Donor-conceived people"]},"owners":{"steward":"For human eggs in storage, the licensed clinic acting on the provider's consent; in nature, the organism itself.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Fertility regulator and donor registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q211050","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q3246226","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.egg-cell","Wikidata: Q1321695 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1321695)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Organism and reproductive context: Linked organism or taxon; reproductive context; identification confidence","Cell identity and origin: Individual specimen identifier; source organism or sample reference; collection event","Developmental designation: Organism-specific germ-cell stage; original label; classification scheme; unknown","Meiotic state: Organism-appropriate stage; observation method; assessment time; indeterminate","Cell dimensions: Micrometres or millimetres; measured axes; inclusion or exclusion of coverings","Coverings and associated cells: Organism-specific structures; present, absent, removed, disrupted or unassessed","Integrity and morphology: Recorded membrane, cytoplasmic and covering observations; assessment method and time","Viability and functional competence: Separate viability, maturation and fertilisation assessments; supporting evidence; uncertainty","Preservation state: Fresh, cultured, cryopreserved, warmed, fixed or other documented state","Fertilisation and activation status: No evidence observed, suspected, confirmed or indeterminate; fertilisation and activation assessed separately"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Under a microscope, a single large round cell surrounded by a clear outer coat.","In birds and reptiles, the yolk of an egg is the enlarged egg cell."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identify and track an individual egg cell while preserving its source and handling links.","Observe and measure organism-specific maturation and condition indicators.","Assess readiness for a proposed intervention against explicit evidence and prerequisites.","Select an applicable protocol for collection, culture, maturation or preservation when authorised.","Record authorised fertilisation or activation attempts and evaluate their observed outcomes.","Transfer ownership to a fertilised-cell or embryo model when the declared boundary is met."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mislabelling or mix-ups in fertility clinics cause irreversible harm to families.","Storage failure can destroy eggs that cannot be replaced."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, Parliament of the United Kingdom.","Directive 2004/23/EC on standards for human tissues and cells, European Parliament and Council."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Egg cells occur in the reproductive systems or reproductive structures of organisms that reproduce through oogamy.","They are studied in developmental biology, reproductive research, breeding and fertility care to understand fertilization and early development.","Assessment depends on the species, maturation stage and whether the cell remains in its natural setting or has been collected."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Eggs (Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th ed., Ch. 20)","url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26842/","note":"Oocyte-to-ovum stages, meiotic arrests, polar bodies, and species differences in when meiosis completes."},{"title":"Unscrambling the oocyte and the egg: clarifying terminology of the female gamete in mammals","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7648930/","note":"Functional distinction of mammalian oocyte (prophase I, ovary) from egg (MII, oviduct, fertilizable)."},{"title":"Ovum (Egg Cell): Structure, Function & Fertilization","url":"https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/ovum","note":"Human ovum as female gamete; ovulation, fertilization to zygote, or breakdown if unfertilized; haploid 23 chromosomes."},{"title":"Egg cell","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cell","note":"Non-motile female gamete in anisogamy/oogamy; oosphere in some plants and fungi; mammalian ovum size and discovery history."},{"title":"egg cell (Q1321695)","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1321695","note":"Identifiers: Cell Ontology CL_0000025, FMA 67343, ICD-11 XA95A3, and distinction from oocyte."},{"title":"The Istanbul consensus update: a revised ESHRE/ALPHA consensus on oocyte and embryo static and dynamic morphological assessment","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12127515/","note":"ART morphology criteria; small, large and giant oocyte size cut-offs; exclusion of giant oocytes; polar-body and zona findings."},{"title":"Safe human tissues & cells for transplantation (until 2027) - summary of Directive 2004/23/EC","url":"https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/safe-human-tissues-cells-for-transplantation-until-2027.html","note":"EU quality and safety law covering donation and processing of ova; replacement by Regulation (EU) 2024/1938 from 6 August 2027."},{"title":"Egg Transport and Fertilization (Volume 5, Chapter 46)","url":"https://www.glowm.com/resources/glowm/cd/pages/v5/v5c046.html","note":"Human oocyte fertilizable lifespan of about 12-24 hours; zona pellucida as species-selective barrier and block to polyspermy."}],"openQuestions":["Does the registry intend 'egg cell' to cover immature oocytes and plant egg cells as well as mature animal ova, and how should that breadth be expressed without splitting the entry?","Which organism-specific maturation classifications and observable indicators should be supported as authoritative extensions?","Which viability and competence assessments are sufficiently validated for each intended use, and which alter or consume the cell being assessed?","What exact ownership boundary should apply to fertilisation, activation without fertilisation and indeterminate transition states?","Which existing Vercy models already own this concept or its neighbouring structures, and which protocol and authorisation models should be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1321695/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1321695/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T13:42:27Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:25+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 8 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}