Hormonal correlates of normal and abnormal follicle growth after puberty in humans and other primates.

After the menarche, changing levels of gonadotrophins, prolactin and sex steroid hormones in peripheral blood are accompanied by ovulation and corpus luteum formation in one follicle, and atresia in the remaining follicles maturing during each menstrual cycle. Available evidence suggests that blood levels of steroid hormones reflect in large part the secretory activity of the ovary containing a pre-ovulatory follicle and most probably of that follicle itself (see Chapter 6). These steroid secretions and those of the corpus luteum coordinate hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian function. Within the ovary, sex steroid hormones mediate effects of gonadotrophins and prolactin on follicle maturation and participate in determining the fate of individual follicles.