“…l Higher magnification of the wall in k (asterisks lack of staining in the theca externa). Bars100 μm (a, b, d), 50 μm (e, g, h, j, k), 20 μm (c, f, i, l, inset in a) ulates the growth of small ovarian follicles in chicken (Williams et al 1992), and that it also stimulates the growth and prevents the atresia of small follicles in cattle (Gong et al 1993), horses (Cochran et al 1999), and mice (Kobayashi et al 2000) and increases the number of large follicles in the ovaries of rats (Ozawa et al 1996) and cows (De laSota et al 1993). The high expression of GH in the granulosa layer of the hen ovarian follicles might also be associated with progesterone production (Rząsa et al 1997), which in turn is responsible for the final maturation and ovulation of the largest follicles as observed in rats (Apa et al 1994), rabbits (Yoshimura et al 1993), pigs (Hagen and Graboski 1990), and cows (Izadyar et al 1996;Kölle et al 2003).…”