Poor follicular tone

Follicles are very important for women. If there are abnormalities in the development of follicles, the eggs cannot be discharged normally. If there are no eggs, then women will naturally experience infertility symptoms. Poor follicular tension is a common follicular problem and a manifestation of follicular hypoplasia. Next, I will introduce you to some relevant knowledge about follicles!

1. Follicle characteristics

a. Primordial follicle: close to the white membrane, with an oogonia in the center and a layer of flat follicle cells around it.

b. Growing follicles:

Primary growing follicle: one or more layers of cuboidal follicular cells, a red-stained transparent zone between the oocytes and follicular cells, and a connective tissue follicle membrane around the follicle.

Secondary growth follicles: Follicular cavities appear between the follicular cells. Some follicular cavities are very large, forming cumulus ovale. The follicular cells located on the inner wall of the follicle are densely arranged into several layers, called the granulosa layer. The follicle membrane can be divided into two layers: the inner membrane and the outer membrane.

c. Mature follicle: The follicular cavity is very large and the cumulus is very obvious. The endometrial cells are close to the granulosa layer of the follicle and are separated from the granulosa layer cells by a basement membrane. The endometrial cells are polygonal, with clear cytoplasm and round nuclei. Many capillaries can be seen between the cells. The exometrial cells are located in the outermost layer, mostly spindle-shaped, and have no obvious boundary with the surrounding connective tissue. Corona radiata.

d. Atretic follicle: The structure of the egg cell is unclear or even disappears, the zona pellucida shrinks, and the follicle wall collapses.

Second, follicular hypoplasia

Follicular dysplasia refers to the failure of follicles to reach the size of mature follicles in the late follicular stage, poor function, insufficient estrogen secretion, and clinical examination cervical scores that cannot reach the expected high value (>10 points). Our monitoring team found that this situation is very common in infertile women, with an incidence rate of up to 27.0%. Moreover, it occurs repeatedly in different cycles of the same patient, with a recurrence rate of up to 63.8%. Even in their non-FM cycles, there are often abnormalities of varying degrees. This finding suggests that FM may be an important cause of infertility. Ritchie also reported that about 15% to 25% of infertility is caused by abnormal follicular development and ovulation disorders, which is similar to the data of this group.

3. The influence of follicles on conception

Whether the growth rate and extent of the follicles are normal, if they are within the normal range, you should choose the ovulation period to conceive. Under the premise of regular menstruation, ovulation often occurs 14 days before the next menstrual period. The lifespan of a mature egg after release is estimated to be 24 plus or minus 6 hours. Within 12 hours after ovulation, the egg has the strongest fertilization ability. It is still fertile within 15-18 hours and loses its fertilization ability after 24 hours. After normal ejaculation, sperm can enter the uterine cavity and survive for 2-3 days, but its reproductive ability can only be maintained for 1-2 days; sperm that does not enter the uterine cavity and remains in the vagina will not survive for more than 24 hours. Therefore, fertilization should occur within 24 hours after ovulation.