FeMale Reproductive System

The Anatomy of the Female Repoductive System

Female Primary and Secondary Sexual Characteristics

Menstruation

What is the Menstrual Cycle

The Anatomy of the Female Repoductive System

BLADDER

Muscular sac that stores Urine to expel it from body through Urethra via excretion

OVIDUCT

Tube lined with ciliated cells to brush released Ovum from Ovary to Uterus for fertilisation

OVARY

Tissue where Egg cell matures prior to Ovulation, and responsible for Estrogen and Progesterone secretion

UTERUS

Organ with thick muscular walls with soft lining where fertilised Egg cell will be implanted to develop into Fetus

CERVIX

Ring of muscle that closes to protect developing Fetus and opens to form birth canal

URETHRA

Tube that passes Urine out of the body from the Bladder via excretion

VAGINA

Muscular passage leading to Uterus by which penis can enter during sexual intercourse to deliver sperm.

Female Primary and Secondary Sexual Characteristics

Primary sexual characteristics are traits a person is born with that determines their sex. Secondary sexual characteristics occur at the onset of the puberty and are driven by the onset of hormones.

Primary sexual characteristics are required for sexual reproduction, secondary sexual characteristics are not. Primary sexual characteristics are the presence of the female reproductive system.

For girls the hormone involved in the development of secondary sexual characteristics is estrogen. Examples of the secondary sexual characteristics in females are given below:

The growth of the breasts, vagina uterus.
The widening of the pelvis (hips).
The growth of hair on parts of the body.
The onset of menstruation.

Menstruation

What is the Menstrual Cycle

In females the menstrual cycle takes place approximately over 28 days. It begins at puberty and continues until menopause (when the ovary has no eggs left).

After menopause a woman can no longer become pregnant.

The menstrual cycle does not occur during pregnancy-no need to prepare for a possible pregnancy if there already is one!

Menstruation is one of the female secondary sexual characteristics

The uterus prepares itself each month for a potential pregnancy.

It does this by thickening the inner lining of the uterus. This lining is called the endometrium.

During a woman's menstrual cycle, hormones cause the thickness of the endometrium to change.

Oestrogen causes the endometrium to thicken and build up so that it can nourish an embryo if pregnancy occurs.

Day 1-5

The lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, breaks down.

The lining is shed from the body through the vagina.

On average, a woman loses about 3 tablespoons of blood through menstruation.

This is called ‘menstruation’, also known as ‘having a period’.

A new egg matures in the ovary.

Day 6-13

A new lining develops in the uterus.

The new lining will be needed to nourish a developing baby is the female becomes pregnant.

The egg continues to develop in the ovary.

Day 14: Ovulation

Ovulation is the release from the egg in the ovary into the fallopian tube.

The egg can survive for two days in the fallopian tube.

Day 15-28

The lining of the uterus-the endometrium-remains in place.

It will break down on the first day of the new cycle unless implantation occurs.

Progesterone is a hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy; it rises during this time of the menstrual cycle.

The Egg

Eggs are the female sex cell, also known as gamete.

Eggs are stored in the ovaries.

They are present from birth but begin to mature around the onset of puberty.

Eggs are much larger than sperm and normally only one egg is released from the ovary into the fallopian tube each month following the onset of puberty.

From the onset of menstruation at puberty a woman may become pregnant.

The release of the egg is known as ovulation.

Menopause is when the ovaries run out of eggs. This normally happens between the ages of 45-55 and means a woman can no longer become pregnant.

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