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Anatomy of The Human Ovary

The human ovary has two main roles: releasing eggs during each menstrual cycle that can be fertilized, and producing hormones to prepare the body for pregnancy. It consists of an outer cortex containing follicles and an inner medulla containing connective tissue. The cortex contains a surface epithelium, connective tissue layer, and follicles at different stages of development. Resting follicles are in the outer cortex, while growing and regressing follicles are in the vascularized cortical-medullary border.

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39 views1 page

Anatomy of The Human Ovary

The human ovary has two main roles: releasing eggs during each menstrual cycle that can be fertilized, and producing hormones to prepare the body for pregnancy. It consists of an outer cortex containing follicles and an inner medulla containing connective tissue. The cortex contains a surface epithelium, connective tissue layer, and follicles at different stages of development. Resting follicles are in the outer cortex, while growing and regressing follicles are in the vascularized cortical-medullary border.

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Serdar Agid
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© © All Rights Reserved
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ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN OVARY  The human ovary is a paired intra-abdominal

organ, amygdaloid in shape, whose primary roles are to release, during each menstrual cycle,
an egg that is fully competent for fertilization and embryonic development
(gametogenic function) and to prepare the accessory reproductive organs for the
pregnancy and birth of a healthy baby by producing steroid hormones (endocrine
func- tion). When the mature human ovary is observed in mid-sagittal section (Figure 2.2), it c
onsists of an outer zone, the cortex, and an inner zone, the medulla. The cortex is covered by 
a specialized mesothelium called the surface epithelium; it contains an outer strip of connecti
ve tissue, the tunica albuginea, and an inner zone that contains the follicles. The resting
follicles are located in a relatively 
avascular layer in the ovarian cortex beneath the tunica albuginea. In contrast, growing and at
retic follicles and involuting corpora  lutea are found in the cor- tical medullary border, which
is richly vascularized. Follicles are closely sur- rounded by a complex and dynamic milieu of
ovarian stromal cells and branch- es of the vasculature and autonomic nervous system. The
medulla contains a variably dense connective tissue that enmeshes stromal cells, blood
vessels, lymphatics, and embryological remnants such as the rete ovarii.

FIGURE 2.2 Schematic representation of an adult human ovary during the luteal phase that shows


the main follicular and luteal structures that can be ob- served in a histological section.

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