What is the difference between somatic cells and gametes?

Somatic cells and gametes

Somatic cells are basically every cell in the body besides the gametes. They are diploid, meaning they have a full set of chromosomes, and replicate through mitosis for the body to repair damaged tissue and grow. In humans, a diploid cell has 46 chromosomes.

Gametes are sex cells, so the egg and sperm. They are considered haploid because each gamete contains half the number of chromosomes that an organism’s somatic cells will have. Produced through meiosis, human gametes each have 23 chromosomes. When the sperm fertilizes the egg to create a zygote, it is then considered one diploid cell, which contains a full set of 46 chromosomes. This diploid cell, created as a result of the two haploids combining, is the human body’s first somatic cell.

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