Technologic advances in the imaging of ovarian morphology and their roles in ascertaining follicular growth and development in the rhesus monkey

Imaging follicular development has advanced notably from the invasive—laparotomy—to the relatively noninvasive—laparoscopy (making frequent observations over a single cycle possible)—to totally noninvasive approaches such as ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Now we can identify the dominant preovulatory follicle (DF) in macaques by day 6 of the menstrual cycle via laparoscopy and by day 6–8 via ultrasonography. MRI scans are remarkably correlated with histologic specimens. We obtained axial, coronal, and sagittal ovarian images with MRI software. Moreover, we are discerning structure/function relationships in ovarian estrogen-receptor systems using X-ray autoradiography and immunocytochemistry. We have localized the estrogen receptor in functional corpus luteum (CL) with ³H-estradiol and in germinal epithelium and granulosa cells with monoclonal antibody to the receptor. We believe that by using a combination of the aforementioned techniques, we will be able to investigate more fully the processes of recruitment and selection of ovarian follicles.