Puberty and the Menstrual Cycle

• Fibr


  Puberty and the Menstrual Cycle
• The monthly release of an egg from a woman's ovaries is part of the menstrual cycle
• Hormones


  • Promote sexual characteristics at puberty (such as the development of facial hair in men and breasts in women) and cause eggs to mature in women
• Puberty


  Your body starts releasing sex hormones that trigger off secondary sexual characteristics
• Testosterone


  The main reproductive hormone in men, produced by the testes and stimulates sperm production
• Oestrogen


  The main reproductive hormone in women, produced by the ovaries, involved in the menstrual cycle and bringing about physical changes
• The Menstrual Cycle


  1. Stage 1: Lining of the uterus breaks down

  2. Stage 2: Lining of the uterus builds up

  3. Stage 3: Egg released

  4. Stage 4: Lining of the uterus maintained
• Hormones involved in the menstrual cycle

  • FSH
  • Oestrogen
  • LH
  • Progesterone
• FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone)


  1. Produced in the pituitary gland 2) Causes an egg to mature in one of the ovaries, in a structure called a follicle 3) Stimulates the ovaries to produce oestrogen
• Oestrogen


  1. Produced in the ovaries 2) Causes the lining of the uterus to grow 3) Stimulates the release of LH (which causes the release of an egg) and inhibits release of FSH
• LH (Luteinising Hormone)


  1. Produced by the pituitary gland 2) Stimulates the release of an egg at day 14 (ovulation)
• Progesterone


  1. Produced in the ovaries by the remains of the follicle after ovulation 2) Maintains the lining of the uterus during the second half of the cycle 3) Inhibits the release of LH and FSH