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Female Plumbing Notes

Reproduction Starts With The Brain!

Pituitary Gland

Pituitary gland is called the master gland because in controls other glands in the body.

It is located at the base of the brain and produces important hormones like:

FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone)🐠
LH (Luteinizing Hormone) 🏠➡️🥚

Important Hormones from the Pituitary Gland:

FSH

FSH (produced by the pituitary)

💡Memory trick: FSHee => eggs and estrogen.
FSH helps follicles and eggs to mature.
- - Follicles are like nests. Ova = eggs.
FSH also triggers ovaries to make estrogen, the main female hormone.
FSH is in charge of egg and estrogen production. Both eggs and estrogen are made in the ovaries.

LH

LH (produced by the pituitary) causes ovulation- release of the ovum from the follicle in the ovary.
LH triggers ovulation, or the release of a mature egg from the follicle in the ovary.
Ovulation generally occurs every 28 days.
💡Memory trick: LH tells the egg to leave its home. 🪹🏠➡️🥚

Important Ovarian Hormones:

Estrogen

Estrogen: is made in the ovaries, in follicles.

Estrogen is the main female hormone.
Estrogen helps to grow fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina. (Primary sexual characteristics)
Estrogen increases the thickness of the endometrium (lining of the uterus)
Estrogen is responsible for secondary sexual characteristics during puberty: breast growth, wider hips, pubic hair, soft skin and sexual feelings.

Progesterone

Progesterone is made in the ovaries.

Progesterone is produced by the corpus luteum which is in one of the ovaries.

Progesterone is the hormone of pregnancy.
It calms the muscular contractions of the uterus. It calms the myometrium. (muscles of the uterus)
It (along with estrogen) thickens the lining (endometrium) of the uterus.
The placenta will take over from the corpus luteum and continue making progesterone if pregnancy occurs.

Progesterone

Progesterone is the hormone of pregnancy.

Progesterone is produced by corpus luteum, the empty follicle (empty nest) inside the ovary. 🙂

It is the corpus luteum 🙂 inside the ovary that produces the progesterone.

Progesterone calms the muscles of the uterus (the myometrium) and helps to thicken the endometrium, the lining of the uterus to support a fertilized egg.

Female Reproductive Anatomy

Uterus

A pear-shaped muscular organ located in the lower abdomen
Primary sexual characteristic in women
Where a fertilized egg (zygote) implants and grows
A fertilized egg implants in the endometrium of the uterus.
The endometrium is the lining of the uterus.
The muscles of the uterus are known as the myometrium.

Endometrium

The lining of the uterus (endometrium) thickens with blood-rich tissue due to progesterone
Endometrium supports embryo/fetus during pregnancy
If there is no pregancy, it breaks down and leaves the body as menstual blood.

Myometrium

Muscles (myometrium) stretch to allow the baby to develop.
Oxytocin is a hormone made by the hypothalamus (part of the brain) that causes the myometrium to contract during labor. These muscles expel the baby at birth.

Ovaries

The ovaries are two small organs located on either side of the uterus.

Their main jobs are to release eggs (ova).🥚🥚🥚 Ovulation is the name of the natural process where mature eggs are released from an ovary. 🪹🏠➡️🥚

The ovaries also produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is the main female hormone.

💡Memory trick: Progesterone is pro-pregnancy! Progesterone is pro-gestation.

Theses hormones made by the ovaries help control puberty the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy. These hormones are also involved in menopause.

Eggs

Females are born with 1 to 2 million immature eggs in total! 🥚

Only about 250,000-400,000 remain by puberty in each ovary.

Ovaries release ova (eggs) - they don't make them.

Each ovary contains immature eggs🥚, each in its own follicle. 🪹

400 eggs will be ovulated over a woman's lifetime.

Ovulation

As mentioned before, ovulation is when the egg leaves the nest! (The Follicle)

This diagram shows the development of a follicle and its egg.

A follicle is like a nest that nurtures an egg.

🪹🥚

The fancy word for egg is ovum. Ova is plural. Ova = eggs.

Step 4 represents ovulation - when an egg leaves the nest. 🪹🏠➡️🥚

During ovulation, one ovary releases a mature egg each month. This egg can be fertilized if sperm is present. 🪹🏠➡️🥚

Ovulation happens around the middle of the menstrual cycle.

Ovulation Video

After the egg is released, the follicle becomes the corpus luteum.🙂

Steps 5 and 6 represent the corpus luteum. 🙂

Corpus Luteum

After ovulation, the former follicle turns yellow and is called the corpus luteum🙂 ("yellow body") 🙂

LH from the pituitary gland under the brain, tells the corpus luteum 🙂 to produce progesterone and estrogen.

Progesterone is the hormone that helps prepare the uterus for a baby.

Fallopian Tubes

Two thin tubes attached to the upper sides of the uterus

The tubes end near the ovaries but are not attached.
Fallopian tubes have "Fimbriae" (finger-like ends) that help guide the egg into a tube.
Small hairs called "cilia" move the egg to the uterus .
Fertilization usually takes place in the fallopian tubes.
The egg is alive for only 12-24 hours after ovulation.

Placenta

The placenta is a special organ that forms in the uterus during pregnancy. It only lasts during the pregnancy and helps keep the fetus healthy by giving it nutrients and oxygen, and by protecting it from harmful substances.

The placenta attaches to the endometrium. The placenta also connects the baby to the mother through the umbilical cord.

Blood from the mother and the baby do not mix. However, food, water, oxygen, and other important supplies are delivered to the baby via the placenta and the umbilical cord.

Wastes like CO2 and the precursors of urine and feces are removed via the umbilical cord and the placenta.

In a real sense, the mother goes to the bathroom for the baby as well as herself.

Once a baby is born, the umbilical cord is still attached to its belly button. The placenta is still inside the mother. The mother eventually expels the placenta. The placenta is often referred to as "afterbirth."

Vagina

Where menstrual blood leaves the body
Birth canal
Organ in which the male inserts his penis during intercourse
The vagina is muscular. It stretches during childbirth
Vaginal opening may be partly closed by thin membrane of tissue called hymen. The hymen may be stretched or torn during first intercourse or any physical activity

Cervix

The Cervix connects the uterus to the vagina. It is like a door that opens during ovulation. The cervix stays closed most of the time with cervical mucous.

Located at the inner end of the vagina.
The cervix opens during ovulation and during birth
Lets sperm into the uterus after ovulation
Mucous prevents bacteria and viruses from entering the uterus
Where baby also passes through during vaginal birth. Birth is called labor.

Vulva

The vulva is the outer part of the female reproductive system.

The vulva includes:

labia majora (outer lips)
the labia minora (inner lips)
clitoris
Vaginal opening

A = Fallopian Tube: Carries egg from ovary to uterus. Fertilization occurs in the fallopian tube.

B = Fimbriae: Finger-like projections that can pick up recently ovulated egg.

C = Uterus or womb: This muscular organ houses the developing embryo --> baby.

D = Bladder: Holds urine.

E = Urethra: Tube that carries urine from bladder to outside the body.

F = Cervix: Doorway from end of vagina to the uterus. The cervix closes during pregnancy.

G = Rectum: Last part of the large intestine that holds feces.

H = Vagina: Used for sexual intercourse. It is the birth canal. Menstrual fluids leave from there.

I = Anus: The anus NOT part of the reproductive system. The anus is part of the digestive system. Feces passes through this opening.

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