Neurohypophysial Control of Follicular Maturation in the Domestic Fowl

Abstract

EVIDENCE from several sources^1–5 supports the view that the discharge of ovulation-inducing hormone from the hypophysis of the domestic fowl is mediated by a nervous mechanism, as in the rat⁶. The interval from ‘excitation’ for the release of the hormone to ovulation has been estimated to be of the order of 8–14 hr.^4,5,7. In the present communication we wish to direct attention to results indicating that ovulations in the hen may be suppressed by the interruption, long before the estimated hour of release of the ovulation-inducing hormone, of processes presumably associated with maturation of the ovarian follicle.