HTHSCI 1H06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: New England Sports Network, Pituitary Gland, Seminal Vesicle

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Health Sciences
• Course: HTHSCI 1H06
• Professor: Peter Helli

Document Summary

Few eggs and not enough sperm: makin" eggs, the process of oogenesis begins in the fetal ovaries where stem cells (called oogonia) produce primary oocytes. At birth there are about 2 million of these primary oocytes hanging about in the ovary. These primary oocytes are diploid (i. e. , they have a full set of 46 chromosomes) they cannot be fertilized unless you wanted a triploid fetus (i. e. , 69 chromosomes, believe me you don"t) At the onset of puberty (about 11 or so) there are about 300,000 primary oocytes and by the time of the menopause there will essentially no primary oocytes left in the ovary. If a woman runs out of eggs early then menopause starts early. Fertility drugs such as clomiphene can lead to superovulation which means a number of eggs will go to the secondary oocyte stage and then be ovulated.