Abstract
The ovaries are two nodular bodies located one on either side of the uterus, attached to the broad ligament, and situated close to the lateral pelvic wall in a shallow depression called the ovarian fossa (Figure 16.1). The fossa is bounded by the external iliac vessels and the ureter. The anterior margin of the ovary is thin, straight, and attached to the posterior surface of the broad ligament by a fold of peritoneum referred to as the mesovarium. The posterior (free margin) is rounded, convex, and unattached. Besides the attachment to the broad ligament, the ovary is held in place by two ligaments, the uteroovarian ligament that is attached to the lateral angle of the uterus and a suspensory ligament that extends from the upper rounded pole of the ovary to the wall of the fallopian tube, immediately adjacent to the fimbriated end. The ovarian blood vessels are contained within the suspensory ligament.25 The utero-ovarian ligament contains some nonstriated muscle fibers.34 Asymmetry is common, the right ovary usually being larger than the left.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abrego D, Ibrahim A (1975) Mesenteric supernumerary ovary. Obstet Gynecol 45(3): 352
Anderson DH (1927) Lymphatics and blood vessels of the ovary of the sow. Contr Embryol Carnegie Inst (Washington, D.C.) 18: 135
Baker TG (1963) Quantitative and cytological study of germ cells in human ovaries. Proc R Soc Sec B 158: 417
Blanchette EJ (1966) Ovarian steroid cells. II. The lutein cell. J Cell Biol 31: 517
Blaustein A (1975) Unpublished data
Blaustein RL, Blaustein A, Gross MJ (1970) Oxidative enzyme activity of human ovarian stromal cells. Obstet Gynecol 36(2): 269
Blaustein A (1981) Fetal Inclusion Cysts. Gynecologic Oncol (in press)
Blaustein AU, Lee H (1979) Surface cells of the ovary and pelvic peritoneum. A histochemical and ultra structural comparison. Gynecol Oncol 8: 34
Boyd JD, Hamilton WJ (1971) The cellular components of the human ovary. In: Modern Trends in Obstetrics and Gynecology, K. Bowes (ed) London, 2nd Sen. Butter-worth and COSID pp 50–78
Burnett JE Jr (1961) Supernumerary ovary: A case report. Am J Obstet Gynecol 82: 929
Call E, Exner S (1875) S Zur Kenttniss der Graafi-schen Follikels and des Corpus Luteum Biem Kaninchen, Sitzungsber. Math. Naturwiss, KL Kaiser Akad Wiss Wien 11: 321
Chiquoine AD (1960) The development of the zona pellucida of the mammalian ovary. Am J Anat 105: 149
Corner GW (1938) The sites of formation of estrogenic substances in the animal body. Physiol Rev 18: 154
Corner GW (1945) Development, organization and breakdown of the corpus luteum in the rhesus monkey. Contrib Embryol Carnegie Inst (Washington, D.C.) 31: 112
Corner GW Jr (1956) The histological dating of the human corpus luteum of menstruation. Am J Anat 98: 377
Crisp TM, Dessouky AD, Denys FR (1970) Fine structure of the human corpus luteum of early pregnancy and during the progestational phase of the menstrual cycle. Am J Anat 127: 37
Czernobilsky B, Borenstein R, Lancet M (1974) Cystadenofibroma of the ovary. Cancer 34: 1971–1981
Eichner E, Bove ER (1954) In vivo studies on the lymphatic drainage of the human ovary. Obstet Gynecol 3:287
Feinberg R, Cohen RB (1965) A comparative histochemical study of the ovarian stromal lipid band, stromal thecal cell and normal ovarian follicular apparatus. Am J Obstet Gynecol 92: 958
Ferenczy A, Richart RM (1975) Female Reproductive System, Dynamics of Scan and Electron Microscopy. New York, John Wiley & Sons
Forbes JR (1942) On the fate of the medullary cords of the human ovary. Contrib Embryol Carnegie Inst (Washington, D.C.) 30: 9
Forleo R (1961) Anatomy of the human ovary during pregnancy. B.I. Obstet Gynecol 16: 530
Gillman J, Stein HB (1951) Human corpus luteum of pregnancy. Surg Gynecol Obstet 72: 129
Govan ADT (1970) Follicular activity in the human ovary in late pregnancy. J Endocrinol 48: 235
Gray’s Anatomy, Female Genital Organs. 29th American Edition. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, Ch. 17, pp 1317–1321
Green RR, Nelson WW (1952) Decidual reaction in the ovary. Quart Bull Northwest Univ Med Sch 26: 197
Grunwald P (1942) The development of the sex cords in the gonads of man and mammals. Am J Anat 70: 359
Harrison RJ, Mathews LH (1951) Subsurface crypts in the cortex of the mammalian ovary. Proc Zool Soc [London] 120: 699
Hertig AT, Adams EC (1967) Studies on the human oocyte and its follicle. I. Ultra-structural and histo-chemical observations on the primordial follicle stage. J Cell Biol 34: 647
Hogan ML, Barber DD, Kaufman RH (1967) Dermoid cyst in supernumerary ovary of the greater omentum: Report of a case. Obstet Gynecol 29: 405
Israel SL, Rubenstone A, Meranze DR (1954) The ovary at term I. Decidua-like reaction and surface cell proliferation. Obstet Gynecol 3: 399
Jocobowitz D, Wallach EE (1967) Histochemical and chemical studies of the autonomic innervation of the ovary. Endocrinology 81: 1132
Laffargue P, Adichy-Benkoel L, Valette C (1968) Ultra structure of the ovarian stroma. Am Anat Pathol (Paris) 13: 381
Leeson CR, Leeson TS (1970) The Female Reproductive System. In Histology, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, pp 416–425
Mattingly RF, Huang WY (1969) Steroidogenesis of menopausal and post-menopausal ovary. Am J Obstet Gynecol 103: 679
McKay DG, Pinkerton JHM, Hertig AT, Danziger S (1961) The adult human ovary—A histochemical study. Obstet Gynecol 18:13
McNeill J (1931) Aberrant ovarian tissue in the round ligament of the uterus. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Com-monw 38: 608
Mobius W, Carol W, Schmid HH (1964) Retroperitoneal Gelegenes Pseudomuzinkcystom, Von ektopischen Ovariai Gewebe Augehend. Zentralblatt Gynakol 86: 133
Morris B, Sass MD (1966) The formation of lymph in the ovary. Proc R Soc Sec B 164: 577
Motto P, Cherney DD, Didio L (1971) Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the ovarian surface in mammals with special reference to ovulation. J Sub Microse Cytol 3: 85
Motta P (1974) Superficial epithelium and surface invaginations in the cortex of the mature rabbit ovaries: A note on the histogensis of interstitial cells. Fertil Steril 25: 1000.
Nelson WW, Green RR (1958) Histology of human ovary during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 76: 66
Pankratz DS (1938) Some observations on the Graafian follicles in an adult human ovary. Anat Rec 71: 211
Papadaki L, Beilby JOW (1971) The fine structure of the surface epithelium of the human ovary. J Cell Sci 8: 445
Printz JL, Choate JW, Townes PL, et al. (1973) The embryology of supernumerary ovaries. Obstet Gynecol 41: 246
Rice BF, Savard K (1966) Steroid hormone formation in the human ovary. IV. Ovarian stromal compartment; formation of radio-active steroids from acetate-1-14C and action of gonadotropins. J Clin Endocrinol 26: 593
Scully RE, Cohen RB (1964) Oxidative-enzyme activity in normal and pathologic human ovaries. Obstet Gynecol 24: 667
Serment H, Laffargue P, Vallette C (1969) The functional stroma of the menopausal ovary. Press Med 77: 1653
Strassman EL (1940) The theca cone and its tro-pism toward the ovarian surface. A typical feature of growing human and mammalian follicles. Trans Am Assoc Obstet Gynecol 53: 11
Strassman IO (1961) The theca cone: The path-maker of growing human and mammalian follicles. Int J Fertil 6: 135
Wharton LR (1959) Two cases of supernumerary ovary and one of accessory ovary with an analysis of previously reported cases. Am J Obstet Gynecol 78: 1101
Zacharias F, Jensen CE (1958) Histochemical and physiochemical investigations on genuine follicular fluid. Acta Endocrinol 27: 343
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1982 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Blaustein, A. (1982). Anatomy and Histology of the Human Ovary. In: Blaustein, A. (eds) Pathology of the Female Genital Tract. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1767-9_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1767-9_16
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1769-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1767-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive