Conclusion

The Egg and sperm :

The egg cell (or ovum, or oocyte) is the largest human cell. She measures 0.15 to 0.2 mm and is just visible to the naked eye. She is also the roundest cell, she is almost perfectly round (Fig. 4). She therefore has the largest volume in relation to her surface. The cell consists of a large amount of cytoplasm (= cell fluid) in which the nucleus is dissolved (and therefore invisible) until just before conception. 

Sperm cells are the smallest human cells. They are no more than a nucleus with a small amount of cytoplasm, some mitochondria (the energy suppliers of the cell) and a long tail. They have hardly any content and are the straightest cells.

Egg cell and sperm are each others opposite. Large versus small, round versus straight, cytoplasm versus nucleus. The differences are great, at the same time they belong together if we perceive the ovum as a sphere and the straight sperm as the corresponding radius.

The mechanism of fertilization :

The head of each sperm, the acrosome, releases enzymes that begin to break down the outer, jelly-like layer of the egg's membrane, trying to penetrate the egg. Once a single sperm has penetrated, the cell membrane of the egg changes its electrical characteristics. This electrical signal causes small sacs just beneath the membrane (cortical granules) to dump their contents into the space surrounding the egg. The contents swell, pushing the other sperm far away from the egg in a process called cortical reaction. The cortical reaction ensures that only one sperm fertilizes the egg. The other sperm die within 48 hours.

The fertilized egg is now called a zygote. The depolarization caused by sperm penetration results in one last round of division in the egg's nucleus, forming a pronucleus containing only one set of genetic information. The pronucleus from the egg merges with the nucleus from the sperm. Once the two pronuclei merge, cell division begins immediately.

The dividing zygote gets pushed along the Fallopian tube. Approximately four days after fertilization, the zygote has about 100 cells and is called a blastocyst. When the blastocyst reaches the uterine lining, it floats for about two days and finally implants itself in the uterine wall around six days after fertilization. This signals the beginning of pregnancy