The ultrastructure of human reproduction. I. The natural history of the female germ cell: origin, migration and differentiation inside the developing ovary.

This presentation, on both printed copy and CD-ROM, summarizes a series of original data on the ultrastructure of human reproduction produced by our research group. In particular, female germ cell behaviour at the time of migration and colonization of the gonad and germ-somatic cell interactions inside the developing ovary are reviewed from a morphodynamic point of view. The results mostly consist of black-and-white transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) images. Artificially coloured SEM pictures, light microscopy images and drawings have also been selected for iconography to render complex microanatomical details and their morphofunctional relationships more comprehensible. In all, 35 images are presented in this article, each related to a concise text section and accompanied by a self-explaining caption. A list of pertinent references is also provided.