Library · Physiology
Ovulation
Make it clearer
Ovulation is the moment when the ovary releases an egg. What happens is that the dominant follicle ruptures: the little sac that matured more than the others carries the egg inside. The egg comes out into the abdominal cavity, and there it is picked up by the fimbriae, finger-like projections at the end of the fallopian tube.
The signal comes from a hormone. It is called luteinizing hormone, or LH, and its level rises sharply in what is called the surge. That surge increases proteolytic enzymes inside the follicle, meaning enzymes that cut proteins, and those enzymes soften the ovarian wall from the inside until the mature follicle passes through.
That same surge does something else, with what is left behind. The theca and granulosa cells, which made up the wall of the follicle, luteinize, or transform, and build the corpus luteum. That corpus luteum is what produces progesterone.
In brief
Ovulation is the rupture of the ovary's dominant follicle, which releases an egg into the abdominal cavity; the fimbriae of the fallopian tube pick it up.
The luteinizing hormone surge increases proteolytic enzymes inside the follicle, weakens the ovarian wall, and lets the mature follicle out.
Enzymes soften the wall from the inside until the mature follicle passes through.
That same surge luteinizes the theca and granulosa cells and forms the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Ovulation, StatPearlsPublished
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