female reproductive system is far more complex than the males first off the female reproductive system produces gametes OVA secondly it also nurtures the developing fetus for nine months primary reproductive organs in the female system are the ovaries the ovaries produce both OVA and sex hormones the estrogen and progesterone and accessory organs include the uterine tubes the uterus and vagina the ovaries are held in place by ovarian ligaments suspensory ligaments and the mezzo varium the broad ligament supports the uterine tube the uterus and the vagina the uterine tubes or oviducts or fallopian tubes form the initial part of the female ductal system they received the ovulated OVA from the ovaries and are the sites of fertilization the tubes empty into the uterus and a constricted region called the Isthmus distally the tubes expand as a curve around the ovaries forming the ampulla the infundibulum is the end of the ampulla that opens into a funnel shaped region bearing many finger-like thin braids the ampulla and thin braids do not totally enclose the ovary but essentially drape over it and around the time of ovulation the uterine tube performs a complex dance to capture the oocytes it bends to drape over the ovary while the fimbriae stiffen and sweep the ovarian surface beating cilia on the FEM berry create currents in the peritoneal fluid that tend to carry the OVA site into the uterine tube where it begins its journey to the uterus the uterus is an inverted pear shape structure located within the pelvis it is anterior to the rectum and posterior postural superior to the bladder it is a hollow thick walled muscular organ that receives retains and nourishes the fertilized OVA the major portion of the uterus is called the body the superior dome-like portion is the fundus and then the narrow neck or outlet is the cervix the uterus is supported by the mezzo metrium which is the outer layer of the uterus and is continuous with the broad ligament the round ligament also supports the uterus as does the Cardinal or lateral cervical ligaments that extend from the cervix to the superior vagina to the lateral wall of the pelvis the wall of the uterus is composed of three tunics or layers the Paramecium is the incomplete outermost serous layer and underneath this is the myometrium this is the middle layer and is a muscular layer composed of interlacing layers of smooth muscle fibres the endometrium is the mucosal lining or inner layer and is formed of simple columnar epithelium with a very thick lamina propria the endometrium as to strata to it the stratum function Alice or functional layer undergoes cyclical changes in response to hormone levels deep to that is the stratum basis or basal layer this is a thinner deeper layer that forms a new function Alice after the end of menstruation the vaginal wall is formed with a layer of stratified squamous epithelium with a fairly thick lamina propria the mammary glands are external accessory organs of the female reproductive system and they compose of a series of lobes consisting of many lobules that are held in place by suspensory ligaments pectoral fat pads help to anchor and support these structures each lobe of the mammary gland is connected to a lactiferous duct which all comes together in exits at the nipple the mammary glands function to produce nourishment for the developing young after they've been born and the control of milk production and the release of milk from the mammary glands are under hormonal control prolactin produced by the anterior pituitary stimulates the synthesis of milk in the lobes and then oxytocin produced by the posterior pituitary stimulates the release of that milk into the ductal system or genesis is the process of forming an egg or OVA and at the start primordial follicles each containing a primary oocyte is stopped and muses one there's about 700 thousand of these primordial follicles at birth at puberty there's about 400,000 and about a thousand will be released during the reproductive lifespan beginning of puberty one follicle matures and produces a secondary oocyte which proceeds through meiosis one and is arrested at meiosis two fully developed follicles are called graafian follicle x' the process of meiosis in the female is slightly different from the male you can see on the right here that during oogenesis the mitosis before birth taking place producing many copies of the primary oocytes and then these primary oocytes begin the process of meiosis they start meiosis 1 they are arrested at meiosis 1 but instead of producing four equal cells they produce one large ovum which is haploid and three smaller polar bodies the ovarian cycle describes the changes that take place in the ovary during a reproductive cycle and if we start with the primordial follicles these include a single auto site a primary oocyte it is arrested at meiosis one this is surrounded by follicle cells at the beginning of each ovarian cycle a single follicle begins to develop and grow it becomes a secondary follicle you can see in step one the step two excuse me the formation of the secondary follicle the nucleus of the primary oocyte is developing the follicle cells surrounding that begin to grow and enlarge forming granulosa cells as these continue to grow they begin forming a fluid-filled chamber called the interim and this develops into a tertiary follicle as this tertiary follicle continues to develop the anthem or space & sign continues to grow eventually this follicle will rupture releasing a bow site surrounded by a layer of cells forming what's called the cone of radiata the material left behind then goes on to form the corpus luteum this is an endocrine structure that produces hormones until eventually it begins to decay forming the corpus albicans in this slide you can see the corpus luteum and the corpus albicans as they continue to develop and then eventually begin to break down the ovarian cycle and indeed the uterine cycle are both under direct control of GnRH ganado tropen releasing hormone this stimulates the production and release of ganado terpenes which in turn control the events of the ovarian cycle and the secretion of and hormones release of GnRH from the hypothalamus travels to the identify offices or anterior pituitary where it stimulates the production and secretion of both follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone follicle-stimulating hormone travels to the ovary and stimulates the development of follicles these follicles begin producing inhibin and also begin producing estrogen inhibin provides a negative feedback back to follicle stimulating hormone whereís estrogens provide a positive feedback back to the release of GnRH the production of luteinizing hormone stimulates secretion of progesterone by the corpus luteum after the after the follicle has ruptured neova has been released both estrogens and progesterone have effects on the nervous system they stimulate bone and muscle growth they establish and maintain secondary female sex characteristics as well as maintaining the accessory glands and organs and they also stimulate the endometrial growth and secretion at the beginning of the cycle and day one secretions of GnRH stimulate the secretion of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone these in turn stimulate follicular growth and maturation estrogen has a negative feedback on the hypothalamus it decreases follicle stimulating hormone production and release and decreases the release of luteinizing hormone luteinizing hormone continues to be produced but is not released it sensitizes the anterior pituitary to kanata trope and releasing hormone and it causes the endometrium to begin proliferation estrogen levels continue to rise throughout day one up through day 14 and by day 14 estrogen levels have now reached a critical level at this level it has a positive effect on the release of GnRH this leads to a burst like release of both follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone this in turn triggers the follicle to rupture and the over to be released the remains of the follicle become the corpus luteum which produces large quantities of progesterone inhibin and smaller amounts of estrogen for the next 10 days progesterone stimulates the endometrium to increase vascular ization and the development of endometrial glands it inhibits the release of luteinizing hormone inhibin inhibits the release of follicle stimulating hormone by day 24 if an ovulating OVA is not fertilized the corpus luteum degenerates becomes a corpus al al boo Ken estrogen and progesterone levels drop and the endometrium begins to die and slough off this process continues for about three to five days and results in menstruation the events taking place within a follicle of the ovary upto ovulation are called the follicular phase and we start with a primordial follicle one of these follicles each month is activated the cells around the ova the follicle cells begin to grow and as these cells grow they begin to mitotically divide they form a stratified epithelium around the oversight these are called the granulosa cells layer of connective tissue forms around the follicle this is called the theca follicular the theca follicular and the granulosa cells begin to secrete estrogen the granulosa cells secrete secrete a glycoprotein forming a zona pellucida around the developing ovum a fluid filled cavity called the antrum forms between the granulosa cells this and therm continues to fill with fluid until the Oh site and the surrounding capsule of granulosa cells called a corona are supported by a stalk this process takes 12 to 14 days and at the end of 12 to 14 days we reach ovulation the follicle ruptures in the Oh site with its surrounded Corona isn't expelled into the peritoneal cavity where they're picked up by the thin Brea and travels along the oviduct where hopefully they meet up with a sperm and fertilization occurs after ovulation the remains of that follicle then entered the luteal phase the ruptured follicle collapses the remaining granulosa cells increase in size and they combined with Ithaca follicular to form the corpus medium the corpus luteum secretes large quantities of progesterone and much smaller quantities of estrogen if fertilization and pregnancy do not occur this structure degenerates in about 10 days however if fertilization does occur then this structure will persist until the placenta develops and takes over the task of secreting endocrine hormones in this slide you can see the hormonal control the ovarian cycle during the follicular phase estrogens initially inhibit and then later stimulate production of GnRH which then produces more estrogen afterwards progesterone and smaller quantities of estrogen inhibit further production of GnRH the uterine cycle describes the cyclical changes that take place in the end of metrium in response to changing levels of hormones in the blood the menstrual phase is the shedding of the stratum function Alice of the endometrium the proliferative phase is where the stratum function Alice is being read we then enter the third phase the secretory phase where the blood supply within the stratum function Alice increases and nutrients are released to prepare for the arrival of a fertilized OVA if fertilization does occur then the embryo will begin secreting human chorionic gonadotropin HCG the HCG causes the corpus luteum to be maintained so estrogen and progesterone progesterone levels continue progesterone causes the endometrium to continue to be maintained as well after the first three months of the first trimester of pregnancy a structure called the placenta develops and takes over from the corpus luteum the placenta produces progesterone and estrogen in addition it produces lactic 'n and relaxin lacta j'en is a hormone that stimulates breast development relaxin inhibits the myometrium contractions as does placental progesterone placental estrogen causes the enlargement of the reproductive organs the relaxation of the sacroiliac joints and the pubic symphysis it causes increased aldosterone secretions for sodium and water retention as well as increased parathyroid hormone secretions to increase serum calcium levels after the seventh month of gestation the placenta secretes more estrogen than progesterone estrogen enhances the contractility of the myometrium while progesterone suppresses uterine contractions estrogen causes the development of the ductal system while progesterone stimulates the development of the milk Abiola glands