Progressive Changes in Maturing Ovarian Eggs during the Time Interval between Copulation and Ovulation

The eggs of most mammals are shed from the ovary with the first polar body formed. The mechanism controlling this stage of maturation has never been investigated in detail. Furthermore, under normal conditions only shed ova are fertilized. Does this indicate tha t the first matura t ion division is an essential prelude to fertilization? Or m a y ovarian eggs in fact be activated before the first meiotic division? This investigation concerns itself with these problems, and falls into two parts dealing with: (1) the mechanism controlling the first meiotic division; (2) the capacity for fertilization of ovarian eggs. Superficially unrelated, these two studies are aspects of the broad problem of the fundamental nature of the activation process.