Histological exploration of follicular population of the Moroccan bovine (Oulmes-Zaers) breed

Follicular population and repartition in the ovarian cortex was investigated in the ovaries of the Oulmes-Zaers cattle breed and its crosses. A total of 30 ovaries were collected at slaughterhouse in Casablanca and Rabat from Oulmes-Zaers breed and its crosses (2 genotypes) of 3 age groups ( 5 years). The histological study of the ovary revealed that the ovarian cortex is composed of different areas (from the periphery to the medulla), the non stratified epithelium of the ovary, the tunica albuginea composed of two areas rich of collagen fibers directed into different ways white variable thickness. The primordial and antral follicles appear in underlying areas. Therefore, the follicles cannot appear on the ovarian surface when situated under thicker Layers. At the quantitative level, the ovary of the Oulmes-Zaears breed seems to contain less follicles in animals less than 3 years of age as compared to the crossbreed (P Key words: Ovary, Oulmes-Zaers, follicular population, bovine, age. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(5) 2004: 294-298