ORGANIZING ASPECTS OF GAMETO GENESIS 



309 



interesting these processes may be [cf. Mulnard, 1956) we must refrain from dwell- 

 ing on them. Only the events essential to the oocytes must retain our attention. 

 During their growth, emissions of nuclear material have often been described, 

 sometimes with a disputable but highly probable validity. Concerning the eggs, 

 aspects observed in the hamster ovary may be mentioned here. In the young 

 oocytes, the mitochondria assume the extraordinary configuration of a compact 



Fig. 2. Immature oocyte oi Gryphaea aculeata. Serra-Unna. The basophilic stalk indicates the 

 previous attachment to the ovarian epithelium. Original slide, courtesy of Prof. J. Pasteels. 



Fig. 3. Two levels of the same human primary follicle. (Bouin, sectioned by congelation, 

 hemalun). In [a), inside a large mitochondrial crescent, a clear centrosphere with its cen- 

 triole is visible. In {b), several spherical bodies (proteins?) can be seen in the same region. 

 Such a centrosome has already been described by Vanderstricht (1923). Photogr., courtesy 



of Prof. Cordier. 



mass, located on one side of the nucleus (see infra) ; under this mass, an emission 

 of nuclear sap is frequently caught up by the fixative (Fig. i , cf. Dalcq and Van 

 Egmont, 1953, p. 365-369). Soon after that, the mitochondrial mass dissociates 

 and apparently plays a role in the growth of the cytoplasm. Similar observations 

 of nuclear contributions to cytoplasmic growth have been recorded on amphibian 

 eggs (Wittek, 1952), and on the small viviparous teleost Lebistes (Vakaet, 1955), 



Literature p. 483 



