Morphological and Functional Development of the Ovary of the Mouse: I. Morphology and Histochemistry of the Developing Ovary in Normal Conditions and after FSH Treatment

Abstract

Maturation and maintenance of ovarian function are under the control of the pituitary gonadotrophins. The capacity of the ovary to respond to FSH stimulation develops gradually with age, and is most pronounced when the animal approaches sexual maturity. In very young animals reactivity to gonadotrophins is found to be lacking, and up to a certain age, which is characteristic for each species, sexual maturity cannot be accelerated by exogenous gonadotrophic stimulation (for references see Price & Ortize, 1944). However, in transplantation experiments of young ovarian tissue into adult spayed hosts, the grafted ovary reaches maturity much earlier than in its normal surroundings (Goodman, 1934; Dunham, Watts & Adair, 1941).