The ovaries
Ovary · ovarium
Two almond-sized glands that store eggs and make the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
What it does
There is one ovary on each side of the womb, held in place by ligaments. Each holds a store of immature eggs. Roughly once a month, one egg ripens and is released, the start of each menstrual cycle's main event. The ovaries also make oestrogen and progesterone, hormones that run the monthly cycle and affect bones, skin and much else.
Surprising fact
A baby girl is born with one to two million immature eggs, and that store is never topped up. Only about 400 of them are ever released over a lifetime.
Why it matters
Menopause happens when the ovaries' store runs low and their hormone output falls. The 3D model comes from a woman of 59, after menopause, so these ovaries are smaller than a younger woman's.
Nearby
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.