Editing Ovary (section)

===Gamete production ===
{{main|Oogenesis}}
[[File:Oogenesis Labeled.svg|thumb|The process of ovulation and gamete production, oogenesis, in a human ovary]]
The ovaries are the site of production and periodical release of [[egg cell]]s, the female gametes. In the ovaries, the developing egg cells (or [[oocyte]]s) mature in the fluid-filled [[ovarian follicles|follicles]]. Typically, only one oocyte develops at a time, but others can also mature simultaneously. Follicles are composed of different types and number of cells according to the stage of [[folliculogenesis|their maturation]], and their size is indicative of the stage of oocyte development.<ref name=ross>{{cite book|title=Histology: A Text and Atlas|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|vauthors=Ross M, Pawlina W |year=2011|isbn=978-0-7817-7200-6|edition=6th}}</ref>{{rp|833}}

When an oocyte completes its maturation in the ovary, a surge of [[luteinizing hormone]] is secreted by the [[pituitary gland]], which stimulates the release of the oocyte through the rupture of the follicle, a process called [[ovulation]].<ref name=williams>{{cite book|last1=Melmed|first1=S|last2=Polonsky|first2=KS|last3=Larsen|first3=PR|last4=Kronenberg|first4=HM|title=Williams Textbook of Endocrinology|date=2011|publisher=Saunders|isbn=978-1437703245|edition=12th|page=595}}</ref> The follicle remains functional and reorganizes into a [[corpus luteum]], which secretes [[progesterone]] in order to prepare the [[uterus]] for an eventual [[Implantation (human embryo)|implantation]] of the embryo.<ref name=ross />{{rp|839}}