Cytologic features of oocytes in the adult human ovary

A broad survey of the cytologic features of follicular oocytes from sections of adult ovaries from donors with normal menstrual cycles, from patients with polycystic ovarian disease, and from patients treated with estrogen and progesterone for gynecologic disorders with no apparent ovarian pathology has been made in this study. On the basis of light microscopic observations, four basic types of oocytes could be recognized: (1) oocytes with nuclei containing diffused or filamentous chromatin, (2) oocytes with metaphase I chromosomes or an extruded polar body, (3) oocytes with nuclei possessing massive clumps of chromatin frequently associated with the nucleolus, and (4) degenerating oocytes with no distinguishing cytologic features. The numbers of oocytes in these different groups varied with the reproductive state of the donors: 34 to 35% were type 1 during proliferative and secretory phases; mature oocytes type 2 were 3.3%, and were found only during the late proliferative phase; and 41 to 46% were type 3 during both phases of the menstrucal cycle. Large numbers of oocytes from polycystic ovaries (77%) and from ovaries of patients treated with steroids (86%) were degenerating and frequently contained massive clumps of chromatin material associated with the nucleolus.