Abstract
Available data for placing the time of ovulation in the sexual cycle of primates is meager in comparison to that for other mammals. Much of the evidence consists of the finding of early corpora lutea in the ovaries. Since in most cases it has not been possible to correlate the condition of the ovum discharged or its position in the tube with the stage of development of the corresponding corpus luteum, this evidence is incomplete.
Recently Corner 1 recovered an ovum from the tube of a monkey on the 14th day of the cycle. This was the first unfertilized tubal ovum of a primate to be recovered after being freed from the ovary. A degenerating ovum was also removed from the uterus on the 17th day of the cycle. In six other animals, all of which had menstruated within two weeks of the time of killing, no signs were found in the ovaries of recent or impending ovulation.
In the course of some experimental work upon injections of the ovarian follicular hormone into monkeys, operations have been performed at several intervals of the menstrual cycle. In the ovaries removed from a monkey on the first day of menstruation, there was no visible indication of either a large follicle or early corpus luteum.
A second monkey was operated on the 16th day of the cycle. One ovary was large and opalescent, although no individual large follicles could be seen from the surface. Some clear liquor was aspirated by means of a capillary pipette, but no ovum could be found. As this ovary was not removed, there was no way of determining whether the follicle was in a normal condition. A third monkey, operated on the 14th day, showed no signs visible on the surface of the ovaries of either a large follicle or recently formed corpus luteum.
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