THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

ESTROGEN

This hormone is responsible for:• Maturation of eggs• Preparation of uterus lining• Menstruation• Development of breasts & body hair• Widening of hips• Protective fatty layer over the abdomen

PROGESTERONE

• The female hormone responsible for releasing an egg from an ovary

THREE FUNCTIONS OF THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

1. Produce and store eggs

2. Allow fertilization to take place

3. Provide a place for the fertilized egg to grow

GYNECOLOGIST

• A doctor specializing in the care of women and the female reproductive system

THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM NOTES: DRAW AND LABEL

• Draw a front view of the female reproductive system

• Label the drawing as we go through each slide

OVUM

• Female reproductive cell or egg

• All eggs a female will have are present at birth

• Begin maturing at puberty, one each month

OVARIES

• 2 oval glands that store eggs

• Produce hormones that control the menstrual cycle

FIMBRIA

Outer end of the fallopian tubes that helps draw the egg into the tube

FALLOPIAN TUBES

• A released egg enters this tube

• Fertilization takes place here (conception)

CILIA

• Hair-like projections lining the inside of the fallopian tubes that help move the egg toward the uterus

UTERUS

• Where the fertilized egg grows and develops

ENDOMETRIUM

• The lining of the uterus

CERVIX

• The lower opening of the uterus

VAGINA

• Area between the uterus and the outside of the body

• Known as “birth canal” during childbirth

PATH OF THE EGG

• About once a month, a tiny egg leaves one of the ovaries — a process called ovulation — and travels down one of the fallopian tubes toward the uterus.

• In the days before ovulation, the hormone estrogen stimulates the uterus to build up its lining with extra blood and tissue, making the walls of the uterus thick and cushioned.

• Occurs mid-cycle, about 14 days before the next menstrual period

PATH OF THE EGG CONTINUED

• If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it travels to the uterus and attaches to the cushiony wall of the uterus, where it slowly develops into a baby.

• If the egg is not fertilized, it doesn't attach to the wall of the uterus. When this happens, the uterus sheds the extra tissue lining. The blood, tissue, and unfertilized egg leave the uterus, going through the vagina on the way out of the body. This is a menstrual period.

MENOPAUSE

• The gradual end of the menstrual cycle beginning around age 51

CHANGES DURING MENOPAUSE

FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM ISSUES

ENDOMETRIOSIS

• Cells from the lining of the uterus grow in other areas of the body.

• Painful, irregular bleeding, and infertility.

ECTOPIC PREGNANCY

• Occurs when the fertilized eggimplants somewhere other than the uterus.• Untreated- tear or rupture

the fallopian tube.

OVARIAN CYSTS

• A cysts that forms in or on the ovaries.

RESOURCES

Talk with you parents/guardians

Talk with your doctor

Websites Female Reproduction:• http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/girls/fem

ale_repro.html