{"id":106252,"date":"2020-11-27T10:50:40","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T08:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivi-fertility.com\/?p=106252"},"modified":"2022-04-12T17:35:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T15:35:19","slug":"difference-primordial-primary-follicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivi-fertility.com\/blog\/difference-primordial-primary-follicles\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the difference between primordial follicles and primary follicles?"},"content":{"rendered":"
When we talk about the female reproductive system, we tend to say that a woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have. This is essentially true, but the fact is that, at the time a girl is born, and even before birth while she is still in the womb, the eggs in her ovaries are not exactly eggs. They are more precisely described as potential eggs. This is the primordial follicle<\/strong> and it is certainly accurate to say that at birth, a girl\u2019s ovaries contain all the primordial follicles<\/strong> that she will ever have. These need to go through various stages of development, starting with the primary follicle<\/strong> stage and going on to others before finally becoming an egg capable of fertilisation.<\/p>\n This distinction is important because the number of follicles, or eggs, is critical when it comes to the normal age-related decline in natural fertility. It is also important for assisted fertility treatments such as IUI and IVF.<\/p>\n From their beginnings in the developing foetus, primordial follicles <\/strong>numbering around a million are present inside the ovaries of baby girls when they are born.<\/p>\n From this point some have many stages of development to go through; others never develop and are naturally lost. This process of depletion starts even before puberty. By the time a girl starts her periods, approximately 300,000 primordial follicles <\/strong>are left. After the onset of puberty, around 1,000 follicles can be activated each month to prepare for ovulation. When one or occasionally two of these take the lead in the race for maturity, the others drop back, cease to develop and are reabsorbed by the body.<\/p>\n Those that do make it to maturity go through a number of stages. Although this, not all of them will develop through each stage. These are the stages for those few that reach full maturity:<\/p>\n In the absence of a fertilised egg to implant in the uterus, the body sheds the thickened lining with the monthly menstrual bleed and the whole cycle begins again. The high rate of depletion as the eggs progress from primordial follicle<\/strong>, primary follicle<\/strong> and right through to the ovulation of a mature egg means that at some point the supply of viable eggs will run out. For any woman concerned about her fertility, it can be vitally important to know how many follicles actually remain<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you could know how many follicles are left in your ovaries, it would give you a good idea of how many eggs are remaining and thus your fertility prospects. Unfortunately, however, primordial follicles<\/strong>, primary follicles<\/strong> and all those that fail to mature, at least partially, are too small to be seen. Only when they reach the tertiary stage (Antral Follicle), just before developing into fully mature eggs, they are large enough to be counted.<\/p>\n Commonly used fertility treatments include intrauterine insemination (IUI), also known as artificial insemination<\/a>, and in vitro fertilisation (IVF)<\/a>. Both make use of hormonal medication to stimulate the ovaries to produce a number of eggs, but the numbers required are very different.<\/p>\n We hope that knowing a bit more about the follicles in your ovaries and their various stages of development will help you to consider your fertility options. If you would like to know more, or discuss any aspect of your fertility with us at IVI, do get in touch. Just fill in our online contact form<\/a> and we\u2019ll get straight back to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When we talk about the female reproductive system, we tend to say that a woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have. This is essentially true, but the fact is that, at the time a girl is born, and even before birth while she is still in the womb, the eggs in… View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":106253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17],"tags":[214,167,258],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a primordial follicle?<\/h2>\n
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How can the follicles be counted?<\/h2>\n
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How many follicles do you need for fertility treatment?<\/h2>\n
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Contact IVI to find out more<\/h2>\n