Human egg cell
0.115 mm
Diameter, not counting its clear outer coat
The largest cell in the human body, at ovulation. 110 to 120 µm across, just visible to the eye.
Published
How big is that?
0.115 mm is 1.6 times the width of a human hair and 1.6% of a grain of rice.
Human egg cell is the 10th smallest of the 32 Tiny Worlds objects, and the 10th smallest of the 172 objects across all five SizeItUp games.
Size comparison
To scale, smallest to largest: Human egg cell in orange beside the Tiny Worlds objects nearest in size, in teal.
| Object | Size | vs Human egg cell |
|---|---|---|
| Pollen grain (Opium poppy)A single grain of poppy pollen, with its three furrows. | 30.2 µm across | 26% of the size |
| Human hair (Width)A strand of scalp hair, measured across. | 70 µm across | 61% of the size |
| Human egg cell | 0.115 mm across | – |
| Paramecium (P. caudatum)A slipper-shaped single cell that swims with thousands of tiny hairs. | 0.225 mm long | 2× bigger |
| Tardigrade (Water bear)A chubby eight-legged micro-animal that can survive drying out, seen from the side. | 0.25 mm long | 2.2× bigger |
In other units
| Micrometres | 115 |
|---|---|
| Millimetres | 0.115 |
| Centimetres | 0.0115 |
| Metres | 0.000115 |
How it's measured
Diameter, not counting its clear outer coat. Midpoint of 110 to 120 µm (J Assist Reprod Genet 2022).
The source gives a range, so this is the middle of it.
Sources
- europepmc.org: J Assist Reprod Genet 39:2523: a final diameter of around 110-120 µm.
- europepmc.org (supporting): Iran J Reprod Med 2011: approximately 110-120 µm, excluding the zona pellucida.
Checked against the source on .
Could you have guessed it by eye?
Human egg cell is one of the objects in Tiny Worlds, a daily size comparison game: you stretch a shape to the size you think is right beside one you know.