The Mammalian Ovary

Mossman and Duke 1973

It is now 40 years since publication of Harland Mossman's "other" book (previous post). It differs in many respects from the better known volume on fetal membranes. In particular it is richly illustrated with photomicrographs. Most of the specimens were in the collections of its authors. The Harland W. Mossman Collection is conserved at the University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum and there is a searchable data base (here).

Kenneth L. Duke was an alumnus of Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah. On retiring from Duke University he sent his collection there. Mercifully it has remained intact although it has not been catalogued. Much of the material will be from Duke's yearly field trips to The Great Basin but there is also material from South East Asia. There are placentas from some species including the Philippine colugo.

Comparative Morphology of the Mammalian Ovary takes as a starting point the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) before dealing with a number of topics across the full range of mammals. For individual taxa the synoptic tables at the back of the book are unsurpassed as a source. The footnotes to these tables indicate where they rely on Duke's Collection now at BYU.

Disclosure: I am adjunct curator of The Harland W. Mossman Collection.