The etymology of follicle comes from the Latin word follicŭlus , which refers to a small sac. In the field of anatomy, a gland that is located on the surface of the mucous membranes or skin is called a follicle.
The skin sector that gathers stem cells and allows hair growth is called a hair follicle . Each hair arises from a hair follicle, within which the sebaceous glands produce sebum that lubricates the hair.
For a variety of reasons, hair follicles can become damaged , including poor hair care routines, unbalanced diets, excess exposure to sunlight, treatments with certain harmful chemicals, a medical condition, or in some cases, hereditary issues that cannot be avoided.
Oil is one of the biggest causes of damage to hair follicles, and it is included in various commonly used products: after accumulating in the follicles, it clogs them and, consequently, causes hair to fall out. One of the key questions surrounding baldness is whether there is any truly effective treatment to restore damaged hair follicles. In this context, some experts say that it is possible to revive a dead follicle so that hair grows back naturally.
Many professionals say that the most common cause of baldness is the action of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (also known as DHT ), which causes the hair follicles to suffocate and the hair to lose body, until it finally stops growing. At the first signs of "thinning" hair, it is recommended to see a doctor to begin appropriate treatment.
One of the most common ways to restore the health of damaged hair follicles consists of the use of certain medicinal herbs that have been applied for centuries. The most common example is saw palmetto , which also has beneficial effects in the fight against prostate disease. According to some scientists, the DHT hormone is also the cause of this disorder, and that is why the same herb works in both cases.
Although women also have androgens, the male hormones from which DHT is derived, they are found in their body to a much lesser degree and that is why baldness is not as common in them as in men. The conversion of androgens to DHT occurs when 5-alpha reductase acts, and that is why the best products are those that prevent this phenomenon . In addition to saw palmetto, it is possible to use silica horsetail , Muria Pauma and nettle roots .
Inside the ovaries , on the other hand, ovarian follicles appear. These are oocytes (gametocytes) that are surrounded by diploid cells, in turn surrounded by cells of the structure known as theca.
The ovarian follicles develop and drive the process that allows the ovulation of each oocyte. Those ovarian follicles that reach the most important growth and maturity are called Graafian follicles , a name that is linked to the doctor who discovered them in the 17th century : Regnier de Graaf .
Graafian follicles, therefore, are the mature follicles that represent the culmination of folliculogenesis . They contain the oocytes that, when ovulation arrives, leave the ovary and head towards the fallopian tube. There, within the framework of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman, they can meet the sperm, producing fertilization .
For botany , finally, follicles are nuts from certain angiosperm plants that, when opened on one side, release the seeds they contained in their cavity.