A review of mechanisms controlling ovulation with implications for the anovulatory effects of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins in rodents.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) can impinge on female fertility by preventing ovulation. In this review, the aspects of normal ovulatory physiology most relevant to our current understanding of PCDD action on the ovary are briefly reviewed. This is followed by a comprehensive assessment of data relevant to the effects of PCDDs during ovulation in the rat. PCDDs interrupt ovulation through direct effects on the ovary in combination with dysfunction of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis.