A female body part disappeared from textbooks because doctors thought it was useless its not
Don’t call it a comeback.For more than a century, an organ in the female reproductive system was written off as useless.However, a recent study indicates that what researchers have called a “mysterious orphan structure” may play an essential role in fertility and keeping the ovaries healthy.First discovered in 1870, the rete ovarii is a small structure on the ovary that was historically received little attention.Early editions of Gray’s Anatomy — the classic human anatomy reference book first published in London in 1858 — included drawings of the appendage.
But it eventually disappeared from medical textbooks and came to be regarded as a functionless part of the adult ovary.Then in 2024, a research team published “Rediscovering the rete ovarii, a secreting auxiliary structure to the ovary,” a scientific paper describing their examination of the development and function of the rete ovarii in mice.An extended horseshoe-shaped tissue at the bottom of the ovary, the organ consists of three distinct regions that persist from birth through adulthood: the intraovarian rete (IOR), the extraovarian rete (EOR) and the connecting rete (CR).Researchers injected fluid into the EOR and found that it flowed toward the ovary, suggesting the structure may play a role in ovarian function.
They also found evidence that the EOR may communicate with the nervous and circulatory systems: Its cells are closely associated with blood vessels that supply the ovaries and receive direct connections from nerves.The cells are also found near macrophages, immune cells that help protect the body.The researchers also found receptors for hormones including estrogen and progesterone, which play important roles in reproduction and other aspects of women’s health.Some of the proteins released by the rete ovarii are involved in egg maturation and maintaining ovarian follicles.
Their activity increased as estrogen levels rose, suggesting the structure may respond to hormonal changes ...