Oogenesis: The Universal Process -- Contents -- List of contributors -- Foreword -- Section I: Oocyte determination -- 1 The sperm/oocyte decision, a C. elegans perspective -- 2 Sex determination and gonadal development -- 3 Clytia hemisphaerica: A Cnidarian model for studying oogenesis -- Section II: Oocyte growth -- 4 Soma-germline interactions in the ovary: an evolutionary perspective -- Section III: Homologous chromosome pairing and recombination -- 5 Homologous chromosome pairing and synapsis during oogenesis -- 6 Meiotic recombination in mammals -- Section IV: Meiosis resumption -- 7 Initiation of the meiotic prophase-to-metaphase transition in mammalian oocytes -- 8 Oocyte-specific translational control mechanisms -- 9 MPF and the control of meiotic divisions: old problems, new concepts -- Section V: The cytological events of meiotic divisions -- 10 Meiotic spindle assembly and chromosome segregation in oocytes -- 11 Mechanisms of asymmetric division in metazoan meiosis -- Section VI: Biological clocks regulating meiotic divisions -- 12 The control of the metaphase-to-anaphase transition in meiosis I -- 13 Mechanisms controlling maintenance and exit of the CSF arrest -- 14 Cytostatic arrest: post-ovulation arrest until fertilization in metazoan oocytes -- Section VII: Oocyte ageing in mammals -- 15 Mammalian oocyte population throughout life -- Section VIII: From oocyte to embryo -- 16 Fertilization and the evolution of animal gamete proteins -- 17 Remodelling the oocyte into a totipotent zygote: degradation of maternal products -- 18 Chromatin remodelling in mammalian oocytes -- 19 Follicles and medically assisted reproduction -- Index -- Colour Plates.