THE OVARIES 



213 



the connective-tissue theca of the folhcle and the connective-tissue 

 covering of the ovary. The egg is discharged from its folHcle into 

 the body cavity, wiiere it is i)icked u]) l)y an ovi(hict, fertiUzed 

 by s])erin i)resent, and carried outward. In some cases develop- 

 ment is internal, but more connnonly it is external. 



Mammals. The ovaries are small, round, or oval bodies, one 

 located on either side of the mid-line near the dorsal wall just 

 posterior to the kidneys. Along the mesial border there is an inden- 

 tation, or hilum, where the mesovariinn connects the covering tissue 





Fig. 133. — Photograph of a section through two oogenic masses in the ovary of a 

 lizard. A series of maturing ova is shown on the left and another series on the right. 

 Even the largest eggs are immature and still retained within the connective-tissue 

 sheath. 



of the ovary with the ])erit()neum of the body wall. The meso- 

 varium is siu'faced with mesothelium similar to that of the perito- 

 neum and continuous with the cuboidal or low cohuunar ei)ithelium 

 covering the o^•ary. The epitheliiun covering the ovary is spoken 

 of as the germinal epithelium, and within it the ovary is divided 

 roughly into two zones. An outer portion immediately beneath 

 the germinal e])ithelium is the cortex; an inner region below 

 the cortex and toward the hilum is the medulla. The connective 

 tissue of the cortex is of the fibroelastic variety, with an additional 

 network of reticular tissue. There are also present spindle-shaped 

 cells, capillaries, and small blood vessels. Just beneath the germinal 

 epithelium there is usually a dense region of encircling connective- 



