194 LEO LOEB. 



ovarian pressure is relatively slight. Under these circumstances 

 the last stage of follicular atresia is preserved throughout a 

 relatively long period of time. A similar condition we find in 

 the ovaries of the guinea pig within the first week after ovulation, 

 when the larger follicles have all become atretic. 



Conversely we may conclude that the intraovarian pressure 

 hastens the disappearance of the theca interna and of the other 

 vestiges of atretic follicles. The pressure of the growing struc- 

 tures is stronger than the pressure of the resting and disappearing 

 structures, and thus the life and growth in one part of the ovary 

 hastens the disappearance of degenerating structures elsewhere. 

 Not only is the disappearance of the shrunken theca internae 

 thus hastened, but also that of the fibrous tissue structures in 

 the ovary. In our case it is uncertain whether the connective 

 tissue had formerly grown into the follicles which are now in the 

 last stage of atresia, this connective tissue having been absorbed 

 subsequently, or whether in this animal the last stage of connec- 

 tive tissue atresia was reached directly from the cystic condition 

 through absorption of the fluid in the follicular cavity, without 

 a preceding ingrowth of fibrous tissue. In case the latter alter- 

 native should hold good the lack of ingrowth of connective 

 tissue into atretic follicles would have been present for some 

 time previous to the examination of the ovaries. In some 

 atretic follicles we notice however some vestiges of fibrous tissue 

 around the central cavity and it is therefore probable that in 

 these cases the connective tissue had previously grown into the 

 cavity after the solution of the granulosa. We also must con- 

 sider the possibility that diminished intraovarian pressure may 

 in itself influence the activity of the connective tissue. 



SUMMARY. 



We describe the ovaries of a guinea pig in which the experi- 

 mentally produced hypotypical condition was more advanced 

 than in any of the other animals which we observed. In this 

 case the underfeeding not only affected the activity of the granu- 

 losa, but also of the connective tissue. In consequence of a 

 lowered activity of the connective tissue a concrescence of follicles 

 takes place in numerous cases in both ovaries. A lowering of 



