Ovarian volume correlates strongly with the number of non-growing follicles in the human ovary

Abstract

A reliable indirect measure of ovarian reserve for the individual woman remains a challenge for reproductive specialists. Using descriptive statistics from a large-scale study of ovarian volumes, we have developed a normative model for healthy females for ages 25 through 85. For average values, this model has a strong and positive correlation (r=0.89) with our recent model of nongrowing follicles (NGFs) in the human ovary for ages 25 through 51. When both models are log-adjusted, the correlation increases to r=0.99, over the full range of ovarian volume. Furthermore we can deduce that an ovary of 3 cm3 volume (or less) contains approximately 1000 NGF (or fewer). These strong correlations indicate that ovarian volume is a useful factor in the indirect estimation of human ovarian reserve for the individual woman.