Female Reproductive System

Question 1

What are the components of the female reproductive system?

Answer 1

A pair of ovaries, a pair of oviducts (fallopian tubes), uterus, cervix, and vagina.

Question 2

What is the primary female sex organ?

Answer 2

The ovaries.

Question 3

What are the functions of the ovaries?

Answer 3

They produce female gametes (ova) and secrete hormones like estrogen and progesterone.

Question 4

Describe the position and shape of the ovary.

Answer 4

Almond-shaped, 2–4 cm long, located in the lower abdomen.

Question 5

What are the two zones of the ovary?

Answer 5

An outer cortex and an inner medulla.

Question 6

What are the three regions of the oviduct (fallopian tube)?

Answer 6

Infundibulum, ampulla, and isthmus.

Question 7

What is the infundibulum?

Answer 7

Funnel-shaped structure close to the ovary, with finger-like fimbriae that collect the ovum after ovulation.

Question 8

What is the ampulla?

Answer 8

The widest and longest portion of the oviduct where fertilization usually occurs.

Question 9

What is the isthmus?

Answer 9

Narrow part of the oviduct connecting it to the uterus.

Question 10

What is the uterus?

Answer 10

A single, hollow, pear-shaped organ where the embryo implants and develops.

Question 11

What are the three layers of the uterus wall?

Answer 11

Perimetrium (outer), myometrium (middle smooth muscular), and endometrium (inner glandular).

Question 12

What is the function of the myometrium?

Answer 12

It contracts during childbirth.

Question 13

What happens to the endometrium during menstruation?

Answer 13

It undergoes cyclical changes and is shed if no fertilization occurs.

Question 14

What is the cervix?

Answer 14

Lower narrow end of the uterus that opens into the vagina.

Question 15

What forms the birth canal?

Answer 15

The cervix and the vagina.

Question 16

What are mammary glands?

Answer 16

Glands present in female breasts responsible for milk production.

Question 17

What are mammary lobes?

Answer 17

15–20 lobes in each mammary gland separated by fat and connective tissue.

Question 18

What are alveoli in mammary glands?

Answer 18

Grape-like clusters of milk-secreting cells within lobes.

Question 19

What is the function of alveoli?

Answer 19

They secrete milk, which is stored in the lumen of alveoli.

Question 20

What is the pathway of milk secretion?

Answer 20

Alveoli → Mammary tubules → Mammary ducts → Ampulla → Lactiferous duct → Nipple.

Question 21

What is the ampulla in the mammary gland?

Answer 21

An enlarged part of the duct where milk is stored before release.

Question 22

What is oogenesis, and how does it differ from spermatogenesis?

Answer 22

Oogenesis is the formation of ova in the ovaries. Unlike spermatogenesis, it begins during embryonic development, pauses, and resumes at puberty.

Question 23

What is oogenesis?

Answer 23

Oogenesis is the process of formation of a mature female gamete (egg) that begins during the embryonic development stage.

Question 24

What are oogonia, and when are they formed?

Answer 24

Oogonia are gamete mother cells which are cells formed during the fetal stage in the ovaries and undergo multiple mitotic divisions.

Question 25

What happens to oogonia during embryonic development?

Answer 25

They multiply by mitosis and then begin meiosis, but get arrested at the prophase-I stage.

Question 26

What is a primary oocyte? What happens next?

Answer 26

A primary oocyte is when the cell gets arrested at prophase I. Granulosa cells layers surround the primary locate which is then called primary follicle.

Question 27

How many primary follicles are present at birth, and what happens to them?

Answer 27

About 60,000–80,000 primary follicles are present in each ovary at birth, but many degenerate during a female's lifetime.

Question 28

What are secondary follicles?

Answer 28

Secondary follicles form when primary follicles mature and are surrounded by more layers of granulosa cells and a new outer layer called the theca.

Question 29

What is a tertiary follicle?

Answer 29

A tertiary follicle forms from the secondary follicle, with a fluid-filled cavity called the antrum. The theca layers are organized into inner theca interna and outer theca externa.

Question 30

What significant change occurs in the tertiary follicle?

Answer 30

Primary oocyte within the tertiary follicle grows in size and the primary oocyte completes its first meiotic division to form a secondary oocyte and a tiny first polar body.

Question 31

What is the zona pellucida?

Answer 31

The zona pellucida is a protective glycoprotein layer around the oocyte in the Graafian follicle.

Question 32

What is the Graafian follicle?

Answer 32

The Graafian follicle is the mature stage of the tertiary follicle, containing a secondary oocyte ready for ovulation.

Question 33

What is the chromosomal change during oogenesis?

Answer 33

Oogonia start with 46 chromosomes, which reduce to 23 in the secondary oocyte and ovum after meiosis.

Question 34

What happens during ovulation?

Answer 34

The Graafian follicle releases the secondary oocyte from the ovary.

Question 35

What are the components of the female external genitalia?

Answer 35

Mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, hymen, and clitoris.

Question 36

What is the mons pubis?

Answer 36

A cushion of fatty tissue covered by skin and pubic hair.

Question 37

What are the labia majora?

Answer 37

Fleshy folds of tissue that extend down from the mons pubis and surround the vaginal opening.

Question 38

What are the labia minora?

Answer 38

Paired folds of tissue located beneath the labia majora.

Question 39

What is the hymen?

Answer 39

A membrane that partially covers the opening of the vagina.

Question 40

What is the clitoris?

Answer 40

A tiny, finger-like structure located at the upper junction of the two labia minora, above the urethral opening.