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A study has been made of the histochemical changes which occur during follicular growth and formation and regression of the corpus luteum in the ovary of the American opossum. The granulosa cells show abundant cytoplasmic RNA. Some lipid bodies consisting of phospholipids are sparsely distributed among the granulosa cells. After ovulation, the granulosa cells undergo 'luteinization' to form the large luteal cells. The most striking histochemical change involved in the differentiation (or luteinization) of the granulosa follicle cell into a luteal cell is the development of abundant diffuse lipoproteins throughout the cytoplasm. Fine lipid granules consisting of phospholipids are also formed in the cytoplasm of luteal cells.

The stromal elements of the theca interna, which contain some sparsely scattered phospholipid granules, do not show any histochemical change during corpus luteum formation.

With the regression of luteal cells, coarse lipid granules consisting of cholesterol and cholesterol esters, triglycerides and some phospholipids accumulate abundantly in the cytoplasm. Some of these regressing luteal cells continue to persist in the ovarian stroma for some time.