614 EMIL NOVAK 



j 



The Role of the Ovary in Menstruation 



Modern Conception of Menstruation. It has been known for more 

 than a hundred years that the occurrence of menstruation is dependent 

 upon the ovaries. Until comparatively recent years it was believed that 

 the ovarian influence is exerted through the medium of the nervous 

 system. This, indeed, was the basis of the theory of Pfluger (&), enunciated 

 in 1865, and quite generally accepted for many years. According to 

 this theory, menstruation was to be looked upon as due to a reflex pelvic 



Fig. 1. A transverse section of the ovary, about three times the normal size, show- 

 ing a large, mature corpus liiteum. 



hyperemia, evoked by afferent impulses originating in the terminations 

 of the ovarian nerves, as a result of the pressure of the growing Graafian 

 follicle. This theory was convincingly disproved by the work of Knauer 

 (c), Marshall (k) and others, who showed that menstruation, or the corre- 

 sponding phenomenon in the lower animals, still continues after removal 

 of both ovaries, provided that they be transplanted into some other part of 

 the body. In other words, the ovarian influence is blood-borne, i. e., it is 

 of hormone nature. 



Which Constituent of Ovary is Concerned with Menstruation? As 

 to which constituent of the ovary is responsible for the internal secretion 

 so essential for the occurrence of menstruation, we cannot as yet speak 

 with precision. The weight of evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of 

 the view that it is the corpus luteuin which plays this essential role. 

 Some authors, like Marshall and Runciman, are inclined to the view that 

 it is the growing Graafian follicles which are most concerned. Still 



