Received May 16, 2006
Accepted September 01, 2006

The preservation of fertility in young women facing premature ovarian failure, particularly those with cancer, has augmented the interest in ovarian tissue cryopreservation.To evaluate the effects of one slow freezing and thawing protocol on the stromal components of the ovarian cortex, we performed specifi c histology staining techniques to collagen fi bers and cabohydrates. Fresh and frozen-thawed sections of one bovine ovary were stained using Mallory´s phosphomolidic acid hematoxilyn for collagen fi bers, Schiff´s periodic acid for carbohydrates and hematoxilin and eosin for control.The organization of collagen fi bers, follicular basal membrane and chromatin condensation aspect of stromal cells nuclei were analysed after staining. In the frozen-thawed tissue, collagen fi bers presented a disrupted thread-like pattern, leaving large spaces between them throughout the ovarian cortex, follicular basal membrane was dettached from the surrounding stroma in 33.4% of follicles classifi ed as “shrunken” and the nuclei of the stromal cell population were mostly pycnotic with condensed chromatin and irregular shape. Our results show that cryopreservation causes damages to stromal elements of the ovarian cortex which may impair follicular survival, growth and ovulation after transplantation.