The formation of the sex glands and germ cells of mammals. III. The history of the female germ cells in the albino rat to the time of sexual maturity

The entire ovary, including its germ cells, is produced by a local proliferation of peritoneal cells. The germ cells of the embryonic ovary grow, divide, become grouped into nests, pass through synaptic changes, and become primary follicles by three days after birth. At that time, growth of all the ova and follicles begins, and this results in a normal maturation, then a degeneration of all the ova by about thirty‐two days after birth; few, if any, of the original germ cells remain after this degeneration. About twenty‐three days after birth, there begins a great activity of the germinal epithelium in forming new ova, reaching its maximum between thirty‐six and thirty‐nine days, but continuing into the adult animal. The definitive ova of the adult are transformed peritoneal (germinal epithelial) cells formed anew during the late youthful and adult life. This occurs chiefly by a local enlargement of single germinal epithelial cells which become surounded by follicle cells and push into the ovary; there is also the production of ova from ingrowing cords of the surface layer of the ovary. The original germ cells pass through synapsis and other meiotic changes in late embryonic and early postnatal periods, but these all degenerate; synapsis cannot be distinguished later than three days after birth. But it is possible to follow, in young and adult ovaries, the transforming germinal epithelial cells into ova which pass through normal maturation and ovulation; therefore, these must be considered as true ova, which they are in fact, even though synapsis cannot be observed in their history.