how come there are so many sperm or egg cells if meiosis only occur once for a cell of 46 chromosomes?

Question

anonymous · Answer

I believe the cells undergo mitosis first to get enough cells then undergo meiosis to form the final cell. Not 100% certain though

anonymous · Answer

Mitosis and Meiosis occur completely separately. There are actually some cells that are designated for meiosis (oogoniums in women and spermatogoniums in men). During meiosis, each spermatogonium (46 chromosomes) is divided into 4 cells (sperm) each with 23 chromosomes. Each oogonium (46 chromosome) produces 1 egg and 3 polar bodies (the oogoniums doesn't divide evenly. The polar bodies are the smaller portion, they get broken down into proteins and basically disappear). There are a lot more sperms produced then eggs.