Study of T.S. of Mammalian Ovary

In females, every mammalian ovary is a reproductive organ that produces sex cells called ova. In addition to producing sex cells, the ovaries also secrete hormones. Each ovary is made up of an outer cortex that contains follicles, interstitial cells, and oocytes. Additionally, there is an inner medulla that contains blood vessels, nerves and fibrous tissues.

Observation

In order to study of the transverse section of an ovary, the development of the follicles is very important. Following are the key observations:

1. The ovary is a solid organ and is covered by a thick layer of fibrous tissue, also known as tunica albuginea, which is lined with germinal epithelium.
2. The T.S. of the mammalian ovary reveals an ovum surrounded by one or more layers of spherical oval entities known as ovarian follicles.
3. As the ovum grows and matures, the total number of surrounding follicular cell layer rises.
4. The appearance of a cavity known as the antrum occurs in the later stage of follicular development
5. The follicle enlarges and the cavity gets even larger. At this stage, the Graafian follicle is ready to release the ovum. This stage is called ovulation.
6. In the following phase, we observe a Corpus luteum and Corpus albicans, which are characterized by differences from Graafian follicles as well as from one another.

Also Read: Ovarian Follicular Development

The stages of follicle development are listed below:

Primordial follicle → Primary follicle → Secondary follicle → Mature (Graffian) follicle → Corpus luteum. 

Gamete Development occurs in the primary sex organs, i.e., testis and ovary in male and female organisms respectively. The process of gamete development i.e., sperms and ovum is termed gametogenesis and involves meiotic cell division. The gamete development in the testis is referred to as spermatogenesis and in the ovary as oogenesis. They exhibit distinct characteristics which can be examined in the transverse section (T.S.) of these organs. In this section, we shall study the identification of stages of gamete development.