The moment a human egg is released from a woman's ovary has been caught on camera for the first time.



The amazing footage was captured during a routine hysterectomy operation. Gynaecologist Dr Jacques Donnez spotted it on the monitor during surgery.

The images, which have been released by New Scientist magazine, have been described as a "fascinating insight" into "the beginnings of life".

The egg belonged to a forty-five-year-old Belgian woman. Dr Donnez, of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, believes that the images will help scientists gain greater understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in reproduction and fertilisation.

"The release of the oocyte (egg) from the ovary is a crucial event in human reproduction", he told New Scientist.

The reddish swelling seen in the image is a follicle, from which the egg is released prior to its journey up the Fallopian tubes to the w****.

The egg itself, the yellow translucent object, is surrounded by support cells which help it through the journey.

Professor Alan McNeilly, from the Medical Research Council's Human Reproduction Unit in Edinburgh, told the BBC: "It really is a fascinating insight into ovulation, and to see it in real life is an incredibly rare occurrence.

"It really is a pivotal moment in the whole process, the beginnings of life in a way."