Human Reproduction, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 645-650, 1991
© 1991 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
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A scanning electron microscopic study of the human ovarian surface epithelium: characterization of two cell types
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology University of Otago P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand 1Department of Anatomy, University of Otago P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand
Correspondence: 2To whom correspondence should be addressed
The surface of the ovary has two types of epithelial cells. We have called these A and B cells and they are found in their own respective zones (A and B). To assess the scanning electron microscopic features of these cell types, 65 ovarian samples were collected from biopsies taken from 35 women with normal ovaries. Biopsies included developing follicles, corpora lutea and ovarian capsules. Type A cells were cuboidal and sometimes tall, with a mean diameter of 6.49 µm, and a mean density of microvilli of 6.48/µm2 Type B cells, on the other hand, were flat squamous cells with broader and flat apices with mean diameters and microvillus density of 11.71 µm and 3.88/µm2 respectively. The A and B zones were common to all surfaces including the distending follicle. Type A cells overlying the distended surface of a follicle had a mean diameter of 7.03 µm compared to a mean of 6.05 µm for the capsular surface. Type B cell diameters and the microvillus density of both types were more variable and did not differ significantly over any of the surfaces. We suggest that previous human studies which identified flattening of cells over the distending follicle were probably observing B cells. The relationship of the B zones to papillae and surface bridges on the ovarian surface, and the association of these with ovulation sites, suggests that B cells are probably metaplastic cells derived in response to chronic surface injury with ovulation.
Key words: human ovary/metaplasia/microvilli/scanning electron microscopy/surface epithelium
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