Reproductive organs: Ovaries
A woman's ovaries are only just smaller than the size of a hard-boiled egg but are oblong in shape.
Suspended from a ligament near the Fallopian tubes, they are the crucial reproductive glands in women, producing ova (eggs) and are responsible for secreting the sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
Hormones stimulate the ovaries into growing eggs which in turn secrete oestrogen encouraging the lining of the womb to thicken and prepare for possible pregnancy.
At birth the ovaries contain around two million cells that could turn into eggs. This number falls to several thousand by puberty. During a reproductive life - around 35 years - around 400 eggs are released.
During a woman's reproductive years an egg is released by one of two ovaries each month.
Most watched News videos
- New video shows Epstein laughing and chasing young women
- British Airways passengers turn flight into a church service
- Two schoolboys plummet out the window of a moving bus
- Epstein describes himself as a 'tier one' sexual predator
- Skier dressed as Chewbacca brutally beaten in mass brawl
- Police dog catches bag thief who pushed woman to the floor
- Melinda Gates says Bill Gates must answer questions about Epstein
- JD Vance turns up heat on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
- Buddhist monks in Thailand caught with a stash of porn
- China unveils 'Star Wars' warship that can deploy unmanned jets
- Trump slams Kaitlan Collins for lack of smiling over Epstein grilling
- 911 call on Nancy Guthrie's disappearance released
