The ovaries are the female gonads. Held in place by large ligaments, the ovaries are housed into the lower abdomen. The ovaries, like the testes in the male, carry out two primary functions: gamete production and sex hormone secretion. Each ovary, from birth, contains a set number of oocytes or initial egg cells. Only a fraction of the estimated 100,000 to 1,000,000 eggs contained in both ovaries will ever mature during the process of ovulation.
