Ovarian Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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• Patient Handouts

Summary

The ovaries are part of the female reproductive system. Women have two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond.

The ovaries produce and store a woman's eggs. During ovulation, an ovary releases an egg. If that egg is fertilized by a sperm, a pregnancy can occur. Ovaries also make the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. When a woman goes through menopause, her ovaries stop making those hormones and releasing eggs.

Problems with the ovaries include:

• Ovarian cancer
• Ovarian cysts and polycystic ovary syndrome
• Primary ovarian insufficiency
• Ovarian torsion, a twisting of the ovary

Diagnosis and Tests

• DHEA Sulfate Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Estrogen Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Laparoscopy (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pelvis Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Pelvic Venous Disease (pelvic congestion syndrome or chronic pelvic pain) (Society of Interventional Radiology)

Specifics

• Adnexal Torsion (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Perrault syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Restoring Bone Density in Women with Ovarian Disorder (National Institutes of Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Ovarian Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Mitigating Age-Related Ovarian Dysfunction with the Anti-Inflammatory Agent MIT-001.
• Article: Potential factors result in diminished ovarian reserve: a comprehensive review.
• Article: Oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in ovarian follicular fluid of women...
• Ovarian Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health Also in Spanish
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• Find an Ob-Gyn (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Patient Handouts

• Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ovarian overproduction of androgens (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish