Ovary

(õ'va-re.) [FromGr. ovarion, a little egg.] (Bot.) That part of the pistil which contains the ovules.(Anat. and Physiol.) The ovaries are the organs in which the eggs [L. ova] are formed in oviparous animals. By analogy, the name has been given to two ovoid bodies which, in women, are placed on each side of the uterus,between the Fallopian tube and round ligament. They are composed of a very close,spongy texture (stroma), and of small vesicles (folliculi Graafiani), filled with a clear fluid; these vesicles contain ovules, which detach themselves from the ovary before and after fecundation, and are carried into the cavity of the uterus by the Fallopian tube. [s. 673]