female

• Ovaries


  Gonads of the human female that produce and release eggs, and secrete estrogens and progesterone
• Ovaries


  • Lie deep inside the pelvic cavity
• Estrogens


  Main sex hormones in females that trigger development of female secondary sexual characteristics and maintain the lining of the reproductive tract
• Progesterone


  Main sex hormone in females that thickens the lining of the reproductive tract in preparation for pregnancy
• Oviducts


  Hollow tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus
• Oviducts


  • Open onto the uterus
• Uterus


  Hollow, pear-shaped organ with a glandular epithelium lining, connective tissues, and blood vessels
• Uterus


  • Bottom region is the cervix, which opens into the vagina
• Vagina


  Extends from the cervix to the body's surface, and is the organ of intercourse and the birth canal
• Genitals


  Externally visible organs of the reproductive tract
• Female genitals


  • Include two pairs of liplike skin folds (labia majora and labia minora) that enclose the openings of the vagina and urethra, and the clitoris
• Hymen


  Membrane that may reduce the size of the opening into the vagina in the virgin state
• Ovaries


  • Contain many thousands of eggs, with approximately 13 eggs maturing each year, usually alternating between the two ovaries
• A woman is fertile for only about 30 to 35 years, during which time 300 to 400 of her approximately 400,000 eggs at birth have a chance to reach maturity, with the others degenerating
• Oviducts


  • Lined with cilia for propelling the egg away from the ovary from which it was released
• Uterus


  Specialized for housing the embryo during its intrauterine existence, with thick muscular walls, many blood vessels, and a specialized lining (the endometrium)
• The uterus is designed to hold more than one developing embryo
• Key Terms

  Corpus luteum: a structure that secretes the hormones estrogen and

  progesterone; progesterone causes changes to occur in the lining of

  the uterus that prepare it to receive a fertilized egg

  Flow phase: The first phase of the menstrual cycle.

  Follicular phase: The second phase of the menstrual cycle

  Luteal phase: The third phase of the menstrual cycle

  Menstrual cycle: the series of changes in the female reproductive

  cycle that occur each month, which include producing an egg and

  preparing the uterus for receiving the egg