Gynecology . function of the ovary consists in thedevelopment and ripening of the follicles. This process begins very early,probably at the end of intra-uterine life. Up to the age of puberty the ripeningfollicles become atretic or aborted, and only at that time do they begin todevelop into true corpora lutea. From puberty there is a continuous process PHYSIOLOGY OF THE UTERUS AND OVARIES 33 of development of the follicles until the menopause, when they disappearentirely. In the maturing process there are three stages to be distinguished: (1) theprimordial follicle, (2) the ripening follicle,
Gynecology . function of the ovary consists in thedevelopment and ripening of the follicles. This process begins very early,probably at the end of intra-uterine life. Up to the age of puberty the ripeningfollicles become atretic or aborted, and only at that time do they begin todevelop into true corpora lutea. From puberty there is a continuous process PHYSIOLOGY OF THE UTERUS AND OVARIES 33 of development of the follicles until the menopause, when they disappearentirely. In the maturing process there are three stages to be distinguished: (1) theprimordial follicle, (2) the ripening follicle, and (3) the ripe Graafian follicle. (1) The primordial follicle lies embedded in the stroma of the ovary, imme-diately under the albuginea. It consists of the naked egg surrounded by asingle layer of low flat epithelium. The primordial egg is an ellipsoid, mem-braneless cell fairly constant in size. The cell-body is composed of a clearprotoplasm in which can be distinguished a very fine network. In the center. Fig. 9.—Primordial Follicles from the Ovary of a Woman of central protoplasmic mass is the germ-cell or egg. It is enveloped by a single layer of epithelium. (After Veit.) of the body is a round nucleus with a definite surrounding membrane. Thenucleus contains an eccentrically lying nucleolus, which is not always observablein the fetus and newborn, its absence showing probably an immature stage ofdevelopment. The epithelial layer of the follicle has been shown to be derivedfrom the germinal epithelium which surrounds the ovary, and, as will be seen,is a structure of much importance. The fundamental function of the ovaryrepresents a repeated ripening of the primordial follicles. They can be seenin lessening numbers up to the time when ovulation ceases at the menopause. (2) The Ripening Follicle.—When the follicle begins to ripen the surround-ing epithelial cells begin to multiply by mitosis and to heap up into several 34 GYNECOLOGY layers. The cells now
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