Female Reproductive System Slides 2003

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Female Reproductive System Slides 2003

• Dr. James May

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1 Ovary. This image is section through the
cortical region of an ovary. It is lined by
germinal epithelium (black arrows) which contains
cuboidal cells. The tunica albuginea (red arrow)
is a dense connective tissue layer lying deep to
the germinal epithelium. Deep to the tunica
albuginea is a small collection of primordial
follicles (green arrows).
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2 Primordial Follicles. This image is a higher
magnification of the previous image illustrating
a group of primordial follicles (arrows).
Primordial follicles contain primary oocytes
surrounded by a single layer of squamous
"follicular" cells.
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3 Primary Follicle. The first sign of follicular
development is the enlargement of the squamous
cells (surrounding the primary oocyte) into
cuboidal cells. A primary oocyte surrounded by a
single layer of cuboidal cells is classified as a
Primary Follicle. The development of a Zona
Pellucida (arrow) is evident in the micrograph.
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4 Multilaminar Primary Follicle. As a result of
continued stimulation by FSH, the follicular
cells undergo mitotic activity and form multiple
layers of cells. Such a follicle is now
classified as a Multilaminar Primary Follicle
(arrow). The development of the theca folliculi
is also evident at this stage.
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5 Multilaminar Primary Follicle. This is a higher
magnification of a multilaminar primary follicle.
This follicle is characterized as having a
primary oocyte surrounded by several layers of
follicular cells. A zona pellucida (red arrow)
separates the follicular cells from the primary
oocyte. The black arrow points to the developing
theca folliculi.
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7 Theca Folliculi. This is a higher magnification
of a section of the tissue illustrated on the
previous page. The black line shows the
separation of the granulosa cells (G) and the
theca folliculi. At this magnification the theca
externa (red arrow) can be distinguished from the
theca interna (green arrow).
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8 Mature (Graafian) Follicle. The mature
follicle is characterized as having a single,
large antrum containing "liquor folliculi". The
wall of granulosa cells is thinned.
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9 Mature (Graafian) Follicle. The green arrow
points to the thin wall of granulosa cells. The
red arrow points to the cytoplasm of the primary
oocyte. Several granulosa cells are clustered
between the wall of the follicle and the primary
oocyte to form a "pedestal" or Cumulus Oophorus
(black arrow). The cells forming the cumulus
oophorus will eventually dissociate, freeing the
oocyte and its surrounding cell population into
the antrum in preparation for ovulation.
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10 Mature (Graafian) Follicle. This is a higher
magnification of the previous image. The red
arrow points to the cytoplasm of the primary
oocyte. The row of granulosa cells surrounding
the zona pellucida has enlarged into columnar
cells known as the Corona Radiata (black arrow).
The blue arrow points to the cumulus oophorus.
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11 Mature (Graafian) Follicle. Each ovarian
follicle contains a primary oocyte that is
arrested in the prophase of the first meiotic
division. Near the time of ovulation, the primary
oocyte continues the first meiotic division. This
image illustrates a primary oocyte in the
metaphase stage of the first meiotic division
(black arrow). The daughter cells will be the a
secondary oocyte and the first polar body. The
granulosa cells are encircled in black and the
theca interna and externa are encircled in green.
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12 Mature (Graafian) Follicle. This is a higher
magnification of the previous image illustrating
a primary oocyte in metaphase of the first
meiotic division. The daughter cells will be the
a secondary oocyte and the first polar body.
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13 Corpus Luteum. Following ovulation and still
under the influence of LH, the cells of the
ovulated follicle "restructure" to form the
Corpus Luteum. As a result of hypertrophy and
hyperplasia, the corpus luteum is much larger
than the original follicle. The granulosa cells
become the Granulosa Lutein cells (G) which
occupy the bulk of the organ and are centrally
located. The cells of the theca interna become
the Theca Lutein (yellow arrows) and occupy the
periphery of the corpus luteum. These cells are
smaller than those of the granulosa lutein thus
the nuclei are closer together and appear
somewhat darker.
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14 Corpus Luteum. This is a higher magnification
of the previous image illustrating the cells of
the granulosa lutein which takes up most of the
image. The cells of the theca lutein are
encircled in red.
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15 Corpus Albicans. Each of the images
illustrates a Corpus Albicans indicated by large
amounts of collagen. As the corpus luteum
degenerates, macrophages and fibroblast invade
this area connective tissue replaces the
degenerated debris that was phagocytized by the
macrophages. In time, the corpus albicans becomes
reduced in size.
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15 Corpus Albicans. Each of the images
illustrates a Corpus Albicans indicated by large
amounts of collagen. As the corpus luteum
degenerates, macrophages and fibroblast invade
this area connective tissue replaces the
degenerated debris that was phagocytized by the
macrophages. In time, the corpus albicans becomes
reduced in size.
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16 Uterine Tube. This is a section through the
ampulla of the uterine tube. This area of the
tube contains a mucosa (yellow arrows) that is
highly folded. Some of the mucosal folds are
branched. The epithelium is simple columnar (next
page).
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17 Uterine Tube. These images are of a high
magnification of the previous image illustrating
the simple columnar lining of the ampulla mucosa.
Note that some of the cells contain cilia (black
arrows) while others are secretory in nature.
Deep to the epithelium is a highly cellular loose
connective tissue (the lamina propria green
arrows) containing blood vessels (red arrows).
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17 Uterine Tube. These images are of a high
magnification of the previous image illustrating
the simple columnar lining of the ampulla mucosa.
Note that some of the cells contain cilia (black
arrows) while others are secretory in nature.
Deep to the epithelium is a highly cellular loose
connective tissue (the lamina propria green
arrows) containing blood vessels (red arrows).
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17a Uterine Mucosa. These images are of a high
magnification of the uterine mucosa illustrating
the simple columnar epithelial lining. Note that
some of the cells contain cilia (black arrows)
while others are secretory in nature( blue
arrows.
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17a Uterine Mucosa. These images are of a high
magnification of the uterine mucosa illustrating
the simple columnar epithelial lining. Note that
some of the cells contain cilia (black arrows)
while others are secretory in nature( blue
arrows.
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18 Endometrium. This image is a section through
the endometrium of the uterus in the
proliferative (follicular, estrogenic) phase of
the menstrual cycle. The lumen of the uterus is
to the right. The black line indicates the
approximate division of the endometrium from the
underlying myometrium. The luminal portion of the
endometrium is called stratum functionalis while
the deeper portion is referred to as stratum
basalis, which tends to have a somewhat darker
staining appearance. The red line indicates the
approximate division between the two strata. The
wavy clear spaces are the uterine glands (red
arrows). The stratum functionalis, which sloughs
during menstruation, is in the process of
regenerating during this proliferative period
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19 Endometrium. This image is a section through
the endometrium of the uterus in the secretory
(luteal, progestational) phase of the menstrual
cycle. In this phase, the endometrium is being
prepared to receive a developing embryo. The
lumen of the uterus is to the right. Note that in
this phase of the menstrual cycle that glands are
much elongated to the surface. They become
tortuous in appearance and begin their secretory
activity.
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20 Placenta. This section through the placenta
illustrating several secondary placental villi
(yellow arrows). Secondary villi are
characterized as having a core of mesoderm
developing into a loose connective tissue. The
villi are lined by Syncytiotrophoblast cells.
Cytotrophoblast cells are found just deep to
these cells. (see next page)
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21 Placenta. This is a higher magnification of
the previous image illustrating secondary
placental villi. Note that the core contains
mesoderm developing into a loose connective
tissue. It is lined by two sets of cells
syncytiotrophoblast (S) and cytotrophoblast (C)
see inset.
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22 Placenta. This is a low magnification section
through the placenta illustrating several
tertiary villi (yellow arrows). These villi now
contain the embryos capillaries embedded in a
loose connective tissue. The intervillous spaces
now contain the maternal blood (green arrows).
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23 Placenta. This is a higher magnification
section through the placenta illustrating several
tertiary villi. The red arrows point to the fetal
capillaries. The green arrows point to the
maternal blood.
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24 Placenta. This is yet a higher magnification
section through the placenta illustrating
tertiary villi. The red arrows are pointing to
the fetal blood within the villi, the green
arrows to the maternal blood in the intervillus
space. The villi are lined by syncytiotrophoblast
(blue arrows). In the older villi, the
cytotrophoblast cells are sparse (black arrow).