Term Name:	cleavage stage
Synonyms:
Definition:	The first few specialized divisions of an activated animal egg; Stage consisting of division of cells in the early embryo. The zygotes of many species undergo rapid cell cycles with no significant growth, producing a cluster of cells the same size as the original zygote. The different cells derived from cleavage are called blastomeres and form a compact mass called the morula. Cleavage ends with the formation of the blastula.
Ontology:	Uberon Ontology [UBERON:0000107]