Title: blastocyst
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - blastocyst
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.10462
Status: current

Definition
Modified blastula that is characteristic of placental mammals.

Note
It has an outer cell layer, known as the trophoblast, which participates in the development of the placenta, and an inner mass of cells in the blastocoel, which develops into the embryo.

Related Terms
- blastocoel: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10461
- blastula: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10464
- placental: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11095
- trophoblast: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11327

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 730 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10462/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10462/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/10462/xml

Citation: Citation: 'blastocyst' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.10462
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-10T09:40:24+00:00