raharris1973
Well-known member
Hey all. In the mammalian male, I understand that from puberty onward, through death, males of the species constantly produce viable sperm and exhibit secondary sex characteristics. Hormone levels may drop along with sperm counts and sperm quality, but the males keep "shooting live rounds".
For the mammalian female, it is my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, that all the eggs that will ever be produced, are produced and present in the body, in the ovaries, at the point of birth. No new eggs are produced throughout life. This is long before female puberty and the development of secondary sex characteristics.
What happens post puberty in the monthly cycle of ovulation is the release of existing eggs to where they can be exposed to fertilization. When fertilization doesn't happen, you have menstruation. The onset of puberty/ovulation coincides with hormonal changes and development of secondary sex characteristics. Ovulation and menstruation eventually end with menopause.
Has it ever been determined what happens in mammals when the entire stock of eggs are removed or ovaries are removed from the female, pre-puberty? Does that prevent puberty, hormonal changes, development of secondary sex characteristics, and menstruation, or does it leave those processes undisturbed? The body doesn't begin to produce substitute eggs does it? I'm not certain if a procedure for removing *all* eggs from the ovaries while leaving those organs intact and leaving none behind has been devised. Does anybody know?
We know that in mammals, even humans, extraction of some eggs and their cryogenic preservation, and their later reinstallation and fertilization is possible, with some degree of success, but I don't know the age of the youngest eligible patients for extraction, and I suspect that the fraction of the egg stock extracted is never more than a sub-sub-decimal percent of the total.
For the mammalian female, it is my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, that all the eggs that will ever be produced, are produced and present in the body, in the ovaries, at the point of birth. No new eggs are produced throughout life. This is long before female puberty and the development of secondary sex characteristics.
What happens post puberty in the monthly cycle of ovulation is the release of existing eggs to where they can be exposed to fertilization. When fertilization doesn't happen, you have menstruation. The onset of puberty/ovulation coincides with hormonal changes and development of secondary sex characteristics. Ovulation and menstruation eventually end with menopause.
Has it ever been determined what happens in mammals when the entire stock of eggs are removed or ovaries are removed from the female, pre-puberty? Does that prevent puberty, hormonal changes, development of secondary sex characteristics, and menstruation, or does it leave those processes undisturbed? The body doesn't begin to produce substitute eggs does it? I'm not certain if a procedure for removing *all* eggs from the ovaries while leaving those organs intact and leaving none behind has been devised. Does anybody know?
We know that in mammals, even humans, extraction of some eggs and their cryogenic preservation, and their later reinstallation and fertilization is possible, with some degree of success, but I don't know the age of the youngest eligible patients for extraction, and I suspect that the fraction of the egg stock extracted is never more than a sub-sub-decimal percent of the total.