ultrasound study of folliculogenesis in spontaneous and induced ovarian cycles

ABSTRACT

144 ovarian cycles were studied by serial ultrasound scanning of the follicles. The cycles included 30 cycles with spontaneous ovulation, 41 cycles in women using clomiphene citrate and 73 cycles in women treated with human menopausal gonadotrophins [57 menstrual and 16 conceptional cycles]. The results showed that there was a significantly higher incidence of follicular development of multiple ovulations and in observing the corpus luteum in clomiphene citrate and HMG-treated cycles. The maximum follicular diameter and the maximum diameter of the corpus luteum were not significantly different between spontaneous and induced cycles. There was also no statistically significant difference in the number of growing follicles, those reaching the pre-ovulatory size, the number of double ovulations or in the incidence of observing the corpus luteum between HMG induced cycles which resulted in pregnancy [conceptional cycles] and those which resulted in menstruation [menstrual cycles]