Histology of the ovarian structure and development of Penaeus vannamei

The histological structure and development of the ovary of Penaeus vannamei was studied. The results show that the ovary consists of an ovarian wall, a central tube and a great many egg chambers of different sizes. The ovarian wall contains four parts from outside to inside:epithelium layer,muscular coats,basement membrane and differentiation epithelium. The central tube produces a great deal of oogonium and there are plenty of oocytes of different developmental stages in the egg chambers. The ovarial development cycle can be divided into six stages according to the bulk,color and structure as follows: multiplication stage,minor growth stage,major growth prostage,prematuration stage, maturation stage and recovery stage.