System: Gynecological: Ovary: Normal Histology: Infantile Ovary
The infantile ovary is filled with primordial follicles located in the cortex, just below the tunica albuginea.
The primordial follicles consist of a primary oocyte surrounded by a single layer of follicular cells.
Ovaries from an infant demonstrate a large number of primordial follicles in the cortex. There is no follicular development until the onset of puberty. Remember that all eggs are arrested in the first meiotic division. Meiosis I is completed prior to ovulation during the reproductive years.
Eroschenko VP. diFiore's Altas of Histology with Functional Correlations. 10th Ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005: 378.