The theca externa of large vesicular ovarian follicles of cats, rabbits and guinea pigs was studied with the electron microscope. Fibroblasts and smooth muscle were observed in all species. In the guinea pig, a third cell type, with characteristics of both fibroblasts and smooth muscle, was present. Myelinated and unmyelinated nerves were observed in the theca externa of cats and guinea pigs. Unmyelinated nerves often contained vesicles and mitochondria and were separated from cellular elements by a space of about 2000 Å. It is suggested that coordinated muscular contractions in the theca externa offer the most reasonable explanation for the extrusion of the ovum. This muscle is probably, at least partially, under local neural control.
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Hubert W. Burden (1972) studied this question.
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