GENITAL OEGANS OF THE FEMALE. 



633 



cubical or cylindrical and higher than those of the rest of the 

 peritoneum. At the hilum the connective tissue of the ovarian 

 ligament passes into the ovary, forming the stroma (Fig. 417), 

 which constitutes the greater part of the organ. The spindle- 

 shaped cells of the stroma are regarded by His as unstriped 

 muscle-cells, while Waldeyer, Henle, and others consider them 

 to be connective-tissue cells. Beneath the germinal epithelium 

 is a condensed portion of the stroma, which was formerly described 

 under the name of tunica albuginea, and was regarded as a cover- 

 ing or coat of the ovary. The outer third of the ovary is the 

 cortex, while the inner or deeper two-thirds is the medulla, in 



FIG. 417. Part of the same section as represented in Fig. 415, more highly 

 enlarged : 1, small Graafian follicles near the surface ; 2, fibrous stroma ; 3, 3', less 

 fibrous, more superficial stroma ; 4, blood-vessels ; 5, a follicle still further advanced ; 

 6, one or two more deeply placed; 7, one further developed, enclosed by a prolonga- 

 tion of the fibrous stroma ; 8, part of the largest follicle ; a, membrana granulosa ; 

 b, discus proligerus; c, ovum; d, germinal vesicle; e, germinal spot (Schron). 



which are the blood-vessels giving to this medullary portion 

 another name by which it is sometimes known, zona vasculosa. 

 In the cortex above are the Graafian follicles, the medulla con- 

 taining none of them. These are sacs varying in size according 

 to the stage of their development. In the Graafian follicles 

 are the ova, the least developed of which are covered by a 

 single layer of cells, those further advanced, by several layers, 

 constituting the membrana grannlosa. The ova and the cells are 

 derived from the germinal epithelium. 



A mature Graafian follicle (Fig. 418) has a diameter of from 

 8 to 19 mm., and extends from the medulla to the surface of the 

 ovary and projects therefrom (Fig. 419), rupturing at the most 



