Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2026

A Hyperandrogenic Mouse Model to Study Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Published on: October 2, 2018
Definition and significance of polycystic ovaries
1Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Clinique Marc Linquette, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire de Lille, France.
Abstract:
Defining the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has challenged clinicians for many years. The clinical, hormonal and morphological definitions of PCOS have their own limitations and do not correspond exactly. Clinically, PCOS can be schematically divided into three components, i.e. hyperandrogenic, anovulatory and dysmetabolic. No one is specific for the syndrome. Hormonally, PCOS has recently been defined by the GnRH agonist test as a functional abnormality in ovarian androgen synthesis. This functional ovarian hyperandrogenism seems closely linked to hyperinsulinism secondary to an insulin resistance. Morphologically, ovarian ultrasonography has emerged in the last decade or so as a new diagnostic tool. However, the sonographic definition of the polycystic ovary (PCO) is controversial, mainly because of a lack of consensus about normative data. The aim of this review is to present the diagnostic dilemma in the diagnosis of PCOS and to discuss the prognostic significance of the PCO.
Related Concept Videos
Oogenesis
Ovaries
On the ovarian surface, a layer of cuboidal...
Ovarian Cycle
Oogenesis
Each primary oocyte is surrounded by a layer of pre-granulosa cells, forming what is known...
Folliculogenesis
Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle
Before puberty, the hypothalamus releases GnRH in a low frequency, low amplitude pulsatile manner. This along with the immature hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity, results in low estrogen levels and the absence of a fully functional ovarian cycle. At puberty, GnRH secretion increases in both frequency and...

