Here's why:
* Meiosis: Oogenesis involves meiosis, a type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half.
* Unequal division: During meiosis, the cytoplasm divides unevenly. One daughter cell gets almost all the cytoplasm and becomes the functional egg cell. The other three daughter cells, called polar bodies, are much smaller and degenerate.
* Purpose: The polar bodies serve to get rid of the extra chromosomes, ensuring the egg cell has the correct number of chromosomes for fertilization.
