A 28-year-old woman misses her menstrual period, and a subsequent urine test confirms her pregnancy by detecting the presence of a specific hormone. Identify the primary tissue source of this hormone and its immediate target structure in her ovary, respectively.

Step-by-step solution

A positive pregnancy urine test detects the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). During pregnancy, the placenta acts as an endocrine tissue and secretes hCG. The primary function of hCG in early pregnancy is to maintain the corpus luteum in the maternal ovary. The maintained corpus luteum continues to secrete large amounts of progesterone, which is essential to sustain the endometrium and the pregnancy. Therefore, the source of the hormone is the placenta, and its immediate target in the ovary is the cor