Final answer:
Polar bodies are non-functional byproducts of oogenesis that degrade and do not participate in reproduction. They form during the process that produces a mature egg, which is essential for fertilization and subsequent development into an embryo.
Step-by-step explanation:
Polar bodies are byproducts of the process of oogenesis, which is the development of the mature female gametes, or eggs, in the ovaries. During this process, which begins before birth and concludes after puberty, there is unequal cell division that results in the formation of typically one to three polar bodies and a single haploid ovum. The polar bodies contain very little cytoplasm and are essentially non-functional cells that will degrade and disappear.
They do not participate in reproduction. Instead, they are a result of the meiotic cell divisions that ensure that a mature egg, upon fertilization by a sperm, will have the correct number of chromosomes. If the secondary oocyte is not fertilized, it will not complete the second meiotic division, and no further polar bodies will form, resulting in the disintegration of the immature egg.