| Abstrakt: |
The structure of the ovary, including stages in the ripening of the oocytes, is described. A prolonged diplotene stage with ‘lamp-brush ‘chromosomes is shown to occur in reptiles, as in other classes of vertebrates with large yolky eggs. The striated layer of the egg membrane is shown to be composed of the same cuticular substance as the zona pellucida. A follicular epithelium composed of three types of cells, later reduced to a single layer of small cells, agreeing with Loyez’s observations, is described. A discontinuous theca interna, comparable with that of mammalia, is noted outside the membrana propria of the nearly ripe oocyte. A thin, soft, fibrous shell membrane is formed round the uterine egg and polyspermy occurs. The latebra, and the male and female pronuclei in apposition, are described. The corpus luteum is shown to consist of luteal cells invested by fibroblasts from the theca externa. Septa of fibroblasts arb also present, but no blood-vessels. The theca is rich in capillaries. The theca interna plays no part in the development of the corpus luteum. A lipoid secretion, which may be of physiological importance, is formed in it. It is compared with that in Monotremes and Marsupials. |
