Ovary. Light micrograph (LM) of a section through the whole ovary. The cortex (outer region) contains numerous follicles (purple) at various stages of development. The primary and secondary ovarian follicles containing oocytes (ova) at their centres. At birth there are tens of thousands of primordial follicles, the precursors to primary follicles, present in the ovaries. Once sexual maturity is reached, primordial follicles are triggered to start developing into primary follicles every menstrual cycle. In the secondary follicle stage the chromosome-containing oocyte enlarges and is surrounded by follicular cells. One secondary follicle per month becomes a Graafian follicle, releasing its egg at ovulation. Magnification: x 2.5 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.