Ovaries

     Even female genital gland, where the ovules (cells are formed intended to be fertilized) and which produces hormones (oestrogen and progesterone). The ovaries, female genital glands, are the bodies lobulaires responsible for the maturation and the production of the ovules. Their size is about identical to that of the testicles at the man, i.e. approximately 2,5 cm broad for 3,8 cm length.

     The ovaries are located on each side of the cavity péritonéale and are connected to the Fallopian tubes and the higher edge external of the uterus by the ligaments utéro-ovariens. The ovaries contain a great number of small bags, called follicules of Graaf, containing an ovule in the course of maturation. The ovaries produce a mature ovule approximately once all the twenty eight days, a phenomenon called ovulation. The follicule containing the ovule with maturity buds on the surface of the ovary and releases the ovule which forwards then in one of the Fallopian tubes.

      If the ovule is fertilized, the follicule of Graaf is transformed into yellow body. If the ovule is not fertilized, the follicule degenerates to form a small scar, called corpus albicans. In addition to the maturation of the ovules, the ovaries have also as a function to produce female sex hormones, such as the oestrone and the oestradiol, which control the growth of the centres, the development of the placenta, and the menstrual cycle.