Question

What is the primary follicle on the ovary?

Answer 1

Hint: Ovary is the primary reproductive organ in a female. Ovary is oval in shape located near the kidneys inside the abdominal cavity. In women there are two ovaries present. Ovaries help to make mature female sex cells called ova or eggs and also make the female sex hormones – oestrogen and progesterone.

Complete Answer-
Each ovary is composed of several thousand follicles (which are a kind of unripe eggs or unripe ova). At puberty these follicles mature to form the ripe eggs or ripe ova which are required for fertilization.
Now, let us discuss the primary follicle. Each primary oocyte is surrounded by a layer of granulosa cells and this structure is called the primary follicle. During the phase from birth to puberty a large number of follicles degenerate. Only 60,000 to 80,000 primary follicles are left at puberty in each ovary. The more layers of granulosa cells surround the primary follicles and form secondary follicles.
In the maturation phase the secondary follicle transforms into tertiary follicle. The primary oocyte grows in size within the tertiary follicle and completes its first meiotic division and forms a large haploid, secondary oocytes and a first tiny polar body. The primary follicles grow in the ovary and become a fully mature Graafian follicle. Formation of mature female gamete, this process is called as oogenesis and this process occurs in the ovaries.

Note-
Ovary is an almond-like flattened body about 2-4 cm in length. The outer region is composed of follicles and the middle region forms the stroma which consists of connective tissue, blood vessels and mature follicles. Stroma is divided in two regions – a peripheral cortex and an inner medulla.