Abstract
Age change was studied on the splitting lines occurring in the bursa ovarica which was obtained from a 14-Year-old female dog of red and short haired breed. The pattern in which the splitting line system occurred in the ovarian capsula demonstrated its growth direction, while the irregular splitting lines there showed distrection of the former line system. It was interpreted that these irregular splitting lines were mainly the result of defense reaction on the part of the capsule's surface layer against inner pressure produced by the growing inner substance (folliculi ovarii), and might be called as direct manifestation of the tissue function. The changes, therefore, of the splitting lines as observed in the ovarian capsule could be concidered as a part of aging process of the tissue, or as an aspect of capsule's adaptive development keeping up with growth of the internal substance. These changes allowed to be divided into 4 stages (illustrated in Fig. 3) : The 1st stage (from birth to 4 months) is characterized by longitudinal growth between extremitas tubalis and uterina. The 2nd stage (from 11 months to 12 months) is the time for transversal growth or growth in sidewise thickness. The 3rd stage (4 to 5 years after birth) is the time for maturity. The 4th stage (from 6 years upward) is the time to proceed toward atrophy.
