maturation /mach′ərā″shən/ [L, maturare, to ripen] , 1. the process or condition of attaining complete development. In humans it is the unfolding of full physical, emotional, and intellectual capacities that enable a person to function at a higher level of competency and adaptability within the environment. 2. the final stages in the meiotic formation of germ cells in which the number of chromosomes in each cell is reduced to the haploid number characteristic of the species. See also meiosis, oogenesis, spermatogenesis. 3. suppuration. −maturate, v.
