Fig. 1

Follicle numbers in saline and cyclophosphamide treated ovaries by stereology and direct counts. a For stereology, tissue was fixed with Bouin’s, embedded in resin and 20 μm sections prepared. Every 3rd section was counted and follicle numbers calculated by multiplying the raw counts by the sampling fractions. Cyclophosphamide depletes the number of primordial follicles by 46%. b For direct counts, tissue was fixed with formalin, embedded in paraffin and 5 μm sections prepared. Every 9th section was counted and follicle estimates calculated by multiplying the raw counts by the sampling fraction. Cyclophosphamide depletes the number of primordial follicles by 28%. Data are represented as mean ± SEM; unpaired t-test; n = 5–6/group; ns = non-significant