Follicles in the ovaries

Follicle - formation in the form of a bladder in human organs. The mature follicle contains a ready-made egg.

During menstruation, the follicles in the ovaries begin to grow, the egg ripens and becomes prepared for fertilization.

Sex hormones (progesterone, estrogens, androgens) are considered steroids, in their appearance are involved cells of the outer and inner layers, granulosa cells of the follicle.

Of the "female" ailments are very common various diseases of the ovaries. Since the ovaries are located deep in the abdominal cavity, any disorders that are associated with them do not have any external signs or symptoms of the disease.

Every month a woman has follicles in the ovaries, inside of which an egg develops. In the middle of the cycle, the follicle bursts, and the egg, which is inside, begins to move toward the uterus. It happens that this does not happen, this situation is considered the most common cause of cysts.

On the surface, the ovaries are surrounded by an envelope of white, formed by a fibrous dense connective tissue, which is covered with peritoneal mesothelium. The surface of the mesothelium is covered with microvilli. At the same time, mesothelium cells have a cubic form. Directly under the belly is the cortex, and more deeply - the medulla in the ovaries.

The cortex is formed by follicles of varying degrees of maturity, which are located in the connective tissue stroma. There are 4 types of follicles in the ovaries:

Primordial follicles in the ovaries consist of oocyte surrounded by a layer of flat cells and a basal membrane. This is the main type of follicles in the ovaries of a woman who has not reached puberty.

Primary follicles. As the size of the follicles increases, the size of the sex cell directly grows . Near the cytolemma there is a brilliant, secondary zone, outside of which there are cubic follicular formations. A characteristic feature of such follicles is the appearance of a shiny zone consisting of glycosaminoglycans and mucoproteins produced by oocyte or follicular epithelium.

Secondary follicles in the ovaries. The growth and size of the follicle is due to the growth of the follicular monolayer epithelium and its degeneration into a multilayer epithelium. Epithelium produces a follicular fluid that accumulates in the cavity of the follicle and includes steroid hormones.

Such follicles are called secondary follicles. Ovocite in them no longer becomes larger, although they accumulate in them the follicular fluid considerably increase.

Mature follicles in the ovaries, which have reached their greatest development and including one cavity filled with follicular fluid, are considered tertiary.

The vesicular (or tertiary) follicle can reach a size that the ovarian surface protrudes. Further increase in the size of the vial filled with follicular fluid may lead to thinning and stretching of its outer and belly ovary membranes.

If the doctor sees an enlarged ovary and many small follicles - more than 12 pieces, follicular ovaries can be diagnosed.

A large number of follicles does not reach maturity, but passes through atresia - a specific restructuring that has a destructive character. The cells begin to atrophy in the granular layer, and the cells of the shell in this case do not simply not perish, but, on the contrary, actively multiply and, hypertrophically, look and look like lutein cells in the yellow body that are in their prime. So there is an atretic body that looks a little like a yellow body, however, characterized by the presence of a brilliant oocyte zone in the center.