Female Reproductive System

Ch. 20.2.2

Female Reproductive System

The role of the female reproductive system is to produce eggs

If an egg is fertilized, it also nourishes a developing baby until birth.

Organs include: Ovaries

Fallopian tubes

Uterus

Vagina

The Ovaries

Female reproductive organs. Produce Eggs – female sex cell

They are located slightly below the waist, one on each side of the body.

Ova means “eggs” in Latin.

Female Hormones

Ovaries also produce hormones.Estrogen triggers some of the adult

characteristics:Hips to widen

Breasts to develop.

Also helps in egg production

The Path of the Egg Cell

Each ovary is located near a fallopian tube.

Fallopian tubes (aka: oviducts) are passageways for eggs to travel to the uterus.

Each month, one of the ovaries releases a mature egg which enters the fallopian tube.

IF it gets fertilized, it will usually happen in the Fallopian tube.

The egg will then move to the uterus.

The uterus is a MUSCULAR organ the size of a pear.

A fertilized egg will attach to the wall of the uterus.

If the egg does not get fertilized, the egg will break down and leaves the female’s body through the cervix and then the vagina.

The vagina is a muscular tube leading to the outside of the body.

The vagina is also known as the birth canal because this is where the baby comes out of the mom.

The Menstrual Cycle When the female body

becomes mature in the teenage years, there are over 400,000 undeveloped eggs in the ovaries.

Only 500 on average will ever leave the ovaries over her lifetime.

Each month, one of these eggs will leave.

This cycle is called the Menstrual cycle.

During the menstrual cycle, an egg develops in an ovary.

At the same time, the uterus prepares for the arrival of an embryo.

That means each month the uterus prepares for being pregnant.

Stages of the Menstrual Cycle

1st: an egg starts to mature in an ovary and the uterus grows a new lining.

2nd: half way through the cycle, the mature egg is released into a fallopian tube. (Ovulation).

3rd: Now the egg can be fertilized in the next few days if sperm is present. If the egg is not fertilized, the egg breaks down and the lining of the uterus breaks down.

4th: the extra blood and tissue of the uterus lining exits the body through the vagina (menstruation). (4-6 days long)

Then it happens all over again.

Endocrine Control

The menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones.

They also trigger a female’s first menstruation, usually between 10 and 14 years old.

Women continue to menstruate until around 50.