Anovulation and Ovulatory Dysfunction
Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments for When You Can't Ovulate
Medically reviewed by Leyla Bilali, RN
Ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovary. It must occur for pregnancy to be achieved naturally. Anovulation means a lack of ovulation or absent ovulation. When ovulation is irregular—but not completely absent—it is called oligo-ovulation.
Both anovulation and oligo-ovulation are types of ovulatory dysfunction. Ovulatory dysfunction is a common cause of female infertility. Up to 40% of infertile people with ovaries experience dysfunctional ovulation.(1)
1. Bhattacharya S, Johnson N, Tijani HA, Hart R, Pandey S, Gibreel AF. Female infertility. BMJ Clin Evid. 2010;2010:0819.