Ovaries
The ovaries are the female gonad?. They are located inside a woman's (or girl's) abdomen near the uterus. They are oval shaped and about 4 cm (1.5") wide in young women. They produce the female gamete?, the egg (or ovum). This is usually done by one or the other ovary every menstrual cycle.
The ovaries are filled with about one million immature egg cells called oocytes. All of these immature eggs were created in the womb (uterus) while the woman was a foetus?. Only about 500 of these are released over a woman's lifetime. I don't have the information yet on how these immature eggs become full-sized eggs. The egg is released in a process called ovulation?, where it starts to travel to the uterus down the Fallopian tubes and can be fertilised? by a sperm.
The ovaries also produce sexual hormones? that play a role in puberty, the menstrual cycle and fertility?.
See also
- Testes, the equivalent male gonad