ovary

(noun)

a female reproductive organ, often paired, that produces ova and in mammals secretes the hormones estrogen and progesterone

Related Terms

  • vulva
  • vagina
  • uterus
  • clitoris

Examples of ovary in the following topics:

  • Angsiosperm Fruit

    • A fertilized, fully grown, and ripened ovary containing a seed forms what we know as fruit, important seed dispersal agents for plants.
    • In botany, a fertilized, fully-grown, and ripened ovary is a fruit.
    • As the seed develops, the walls of the ovary in which it forms thicken and form the fruit, enlarging as the seeds grow.
    • Another distinction is that not all fruits are derived from the ovary.
    • Some fruits are derived from separate ovaries in a single flower, such as the raspberry.
  • Development of Fruit and Fruit Types

    • After fertilization, the ovary of the flower usually develops into the fruit.
    • The term "fruit" is used for a ripened ovary.
    • If the fruit develops from a single carpel or fused carpels of a single ovary, it is known as a simple fruit, as seen in nuts and beans.
    • Simple fruits, such as these nuts, are derived from a single ovary.
    • Accessory fruits, like apples, are formed from a part of the plant other than the ovary.
  • Female Hormones

    • The stages of the ovarian cycle in the female are regulated by hormones secreted by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and the ovaries.
    • In addition, estrogens and progesterone are released from the developing follicles, which are structures on the ovaries that contain the maturing eggs.
    • Slowly-rising levels of FSH and LH cause the growth of follicles on the surface of the ovary, which prepares the egg for ovulation.
    • As women approach their mid-40s to mid-50s, their ovaries begin to lose their sensitivity to FSH and LH.
    • The ovarian and menstrual cycles of female reproduction are regulated by hormones produced by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries.
  • Pineal Gland and Gonads

    • They are the sex organs and include the male testes and female ovaries.
    • The ovaries produce hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, which cause secondary sex characteristics and prepare the body for childbirth.
    • The ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone, which are hormones responsible for the development of sexual characteristics in females and the preparation of female bodies for pregnancy and childbirth.
    • Male testes produce androgens, while female ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone.
  • Female Reproductive Anatomy

    • Internal female reproductive structures include ovaries, oviducts, the uterus, and the vagina.
    • An ovary consists of a medulla and cortex: the medulla contains nerves and blood vessels to supply the cortex with nutrients and remove waste.
    • The outer layers of cells of the cortex are the functional parts of the ovaries.
    • The oviducts, or fallopian tubes, extend from the uterus in the lower abdominal cavity to the ovaries, but they are not in contact with the ovaries.
    • Oocytes develop in (a) follicles, located in the ovary.
  • Angiosperm Flowers

    • A long, thin structure called a style leads from the sticky stigma, where pollen is deposited, to the ovary, enclosed in the carpel.
    • The ovary houses one or more ovules, each of which will develop into a seed upon fertilization.
  • Hormonal Regulation of the Reproductive System

    • These hormones regulate the gonads (testes in males and ovaries in females); they are called gonadotropins.
    • LH also plays a role in the development of ova, induction of ovulation, and stimulation of estradiol and progesterone production by the ovaries .
    • Hormonal regulation of the female reproductive system involves hormones from the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries.
    • The ovaries, in turn, secrete hormones that play a role in female sexual characteristics.
  • Evolution of Angiosperms

    • Angiosperms, which evolved in the Cretaceous period, are a diverse group of plants which protect their seeds within an ovary called a fruit.
    • The surrounding tissues of the ovary thicken, developing into a fruit that will protect the seed and often ensure its dispersal over a wide geographic range.
    • Not all fruits develop from an ovary; such structures are "false fruits."
  • Sexual Reproduction in Angiosperms

    • The carpel is the individual unit of the gynoecium and has a stigma, style, and ovary.
    • The ovary, which may contain one or multiple ovules, may be placed above other flower parts (referred to as superior); or it may be placed below the other flower parts (referred to as inferior) .
    • Upon germination, the tube cell forms the pollen tube through which the generative cell migrates to enter the ovary.
    • The (a) lily is a superior flower, which has the ovary above the other flower parts.
    • (b) Fuchsia is an inferior flower, which has the ovary beneath other flower parts.
  • Gametogenesis (Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis)

    • Oogenesis occurs in the outermost layers of the ovaries.
    • At adolescence, anterior pituitary hormones cause the development of a number of follicles in an ovary.
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