Female Reproductive System I Flashcards
Do the ovaries have an outer cortex and inner medulla?
Yes
What are the ovaries covered with?
An outer germinal epithelium and an inner dense CT layer called the tunica albuginea.
What is the germinal epithelium? What type of epithelium is it?
It is the cell layer that surrounds the ovary/tunica albuginea. Simple cuboidal.
In which part of the ovaries are follicles found?
Cortex ONLY!
What is present in the ovarian medulla?
CT, interstitial cells, nerves, lymphatics, large blood vessels
What is the definition of a follicle?
An oocyte with associated follicular and stromal cells.
When a unilaminar primary follicle becomes a multilaminar primary follicle, what happens to the stroma?
The stroma cells differentiate into the the theca interna and the theca externa.
What do the theca interna cells do?
Make androgens
What is the theca externa?
A thick CT
What separates the granulosa cells from the theca?
A thick basal lamina
What cells of a multilaminar primary follicle are highly vasularized? Explain why.
The theca interna are because they need to be able to release androgens into the blood! The theca externa CT is also vascular.
What two things are separated by the zona pellucida? What cell specializations can be found here?
Separates the oocyte from the granulosa cells. Microvilli and gap junctions are found here.
What is the zona pellucida made of?
Glycoprotein mostly (PAS +)
What is another name for antral, or vesicular follicles?
Secondary follicles
What is the liquor folliculi?
Fluid between the granulosa cells of a secondary follicle.
What makes up the antrum?
When the liquor folliculi builds up the antrum is formed.
Name three hormones that granulosa cells secrete.
Inhibin, activin, and estrogen.
What does inhibin do? What does activin do?
Inhibin inhibits FSH via hypothalmic feedback, and activin increases FSH through the hypothalmus.
What is follicular atresia?
Apoptosis of follicles
When does follicular atresia happen?
A lot before birth, and before puberty, but does happen throughout life!
What is the “glassy membrane?”
When the basal lamina between granulosa cells and theca thicken after follicular atresia.
What do interstitial cells that arise from follicular atresia do?
Make sex hormones after menopause.
What happens at the stigma?
It is the site of follicle rupture.
What determines where the stigma occurs?
High collagenase activity and high antral pressure cause rupture at a specific site - the stigma.
What does the corpus luteum arise from?
Follicle remnants that become luteinized (granulosa cells are now called granulosa lutein cells)
What do granulosa lutein cells secrete? What enzyme do they use to make estrogen?
Progesterone and estrogen in response to LH and FSH. Aromatase converts androgens into estrogen.
How do granulosa lutein cells stain?
Pale-staining with lipid droplets and abundant SER.
If fertilization does not occur, how long does it take for the corpus luteum to degenerate?
14 days
What does relaxin do? What makes it?
Corpus luteum makes it. It loosens the fibrocartilage of the pubic symphysis.
What is the corpus albicans?
The remnants of a degenerated corpus luteum
Will one find follicles in the cortex of an ovary of a post-menopausal woman?
Nope.
