Interstitial Cells in the Human Fetal Ovary1

Abstract

Interstitial cells with characteristic features of steroid secreting cells were identified in ovarian tissue from human fetuses aged 12 to 20 weeks. The cells were located in the medullary region just beneath the cortical cords. They were generally found adjacent to blood vessels. By electron microscopy, the cells were seen to contain abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, large spherical mitochondria, well developed Golgi complexes and scattered dense bodies, features associated with steroidogenic activity. Cellular appearance, by light and electron microscopy, was similar to that of Leydig cells in human fetal testes. The relative number of interstitial cells in the ovary was much lower than the number of Leydig cells in the testis during the corresponding time period. (Endocrinology93: 736, 1973)