Female Repro 1

Question 1

What are the characteristics of a primordial follicle ?

Answer 1

Central oocyte with simple,squamous epithelium

Question 2

What are characteristics of a unilaminar primary follicle?

Answer 2

central oocyte with simple, cuboidal epithelium

Question 3

what are characteristics of a multilaminar primary follicle?

Answer 3

central oocyte with stratified cuboidial epithelium

Question 4

what are characteristics of a secondary follicle?

Answer 4

central or acentral oocyte with stratified cuboidal epithelium and one or more fluid filled spaces

Question 5

what are characterisitics of a graffian ( or mature follicle)?

Answer 5

dominant secondary follicle that produces a visible bulge from the surface of the ovary.

Question 6

what are the 4 histological layers of the ovary?

Answer 6

Germinal epithelium ( simple cuboidal epithelium)
tunica albuginea ( eosinophilic  b/c of collagen fibers) 

cortex ( contains follicles and stroma)

medulla ( loose connective tissue contains blood vessels and nerves)

Question 7

what type of cells make up the ovarian follicle?

Answer 7

oocytes ( germ cells) and follicular cells surround the oocyte

Question 8

what hormone initiates follicle growth?

Answer 8

follicle stimulating hormone

Question 9

what hormone sustains follicle growth by promoting follicular cell/ granulosa cell proliferation?

Answer 9

estrogen

Question 10

what separates the primary oocyte from the granulosa?

Answer 10

zona pellucida

Question 11

what is the function of the zona pellucida?

Answer 11

the zona pellucida promotes sperm association and activation much later during fertilization

Question 12

how do the primary oocyte and the granulosa communicate across the zona pellucida?

Answer 12

through gap junctions

Question 13

what histological features distinguish a large viable follicle from an atretic follicle?

Answer 13

atretic follicles have pyknotic nuclei ( condensed) which slough off into the antrum

and their basement membrane thickens into a transient collagenous scar = the Corpus Fibrosum

Question 14

What cells produce estrogen?

Answer 14

Follicular and granulosa cells

Question 15

what are histological features of the luteinized granulosa cells?

Answer 15

large, pale , eosinophilic with foamy appearing cytoplasm and large euchromatic nuclei.

prominent smooth ER, large mitochondria with tubular cristae numerous lipid droplets

Question 16

what do the features of the luteinized granulosa cells indicate about their functions?

Answer 16

luteinized granulosa cells can synthesize steroid hormones rather than just converting one steroid to another.

Question 17

what are 3 steriod producing structures found in an ovary ( not necessarily found at the same time)?

Answer 17

theca interna ( decondensed nuclei can even see nucleoli some times, pale cytoplasm)

luteinized granulosa cells ( large pale, eosinophilic cells w/ foamy nuclei)

luteinized theca cells ( darker and smaller than luteinized granulosa cells)

Question 18

what histological features do corpus albicans, corpus fibrosa and corpus luteum different?

Answer 18

corpus albicans is very large mostly acellular, has dense collagen fibers, and is eosinophillic

corpus luteum is large pale, eosinophilic with foamy cells and a large euchromatic nuceli

corpus fibrosum is full of collagen and fibroblasts ( which makes the collagen) condensed nuclei