Biology of Reproduction, Vol 14, 502-506, Copyright © 1976 by Society for the Study of Reproduction

The Distribution of Collagenous Connective Tissue in Rat Ovarian Follicles

¹ Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas 78284

The layers of thecal tissue in the ovarian follicles of mammals normally contain collagen. During the past year, it has been reported that the follicle wall of the rat uterus is an exception. The present report demonstrates that the rat follicle does contain collagen in abundance. This thecal collagen is very conspicuous when the tissue has been stained with phosphotungstic acid. However, collagen is not obvious in ultrathin sections that have been stained with the lead solutions which are commonly used in electron microscopy. These results maintain the current hypothesis that the mechanism of ovulation requires the disruption of collagenous connective tissue in the follicle wall.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was carried out with the reliable assistance of Patrice J. Coons. I am thankful to Dr. Jon M. R. Rawson for his constructive criticism of the manuscript and to Dr. Andrew G. Cowles for his generous donation of the electron microscope and other facilities essential to the conduct of this study. This research was supported by NIH Grant HD-06371.