Hormones and Menstrual cycle Flashcards
What are hormones?
Chemical messengers which travel in the bloodstream
What is the difference between nerves and hormones?
Nerves- fast action, act for short time, act on precise area
Hormones- slow action, act for long time, act in more general way
What does the pituitary gland do?
Produces hormones including FSH and LH, it is in the brain
What do the ovaries do?
Produce oestrogen
What is the menstrual cycle?
Monthly realease of an egg from a woman’s uterus, and the build up of lining in uterus
What are the stages of a menstrual cycle?
Day 1- bleeding starts, breakdown of uterus lining
Day 4-14- lining builds up into thick layer of blood vessels
Day 14- egg released from ovary
Day 14-28- wall is maintained and egg waits for fertilisation if not fertilised it will be released
What does FSH do?
- Produced in pituitary gland
- Causes egg to mature
- Stimulates ovary to produce oestrogen
What does Oestrogen do?
- Produced by ovaries
- Causes pituitary to produce LH
- Inhibits further release of FSH
What does LH do?
- Produced by pituitary gland
- Stimulates release of an egg
What can be used to prevent the realease of an egg?
Oestrogen
What are th pros of the pill?
- It is 99% effective
- Reduves the risk of getting some types of cancer
What are the cons of the pill?
- It isn’t 100% effective
- Doesn’t protect against STD’s
- Can cause side effects like headaches, nausea etc
What hormones can increase fertility?
-FSH or LH hormones
What are the pros of the FSH and LH hormone?
It helps women to get pregnant
What are the cons of the FSH and LH hormones ?
It doesn’t always work
Too many eggs could be stimulated resulting in multiple pregnancies
How does IVF work?
Collecting egg from woman’s ovaries and fertilising them in a lab with the mans sperm, these are grown into an embryo and transferred into the woman’s uterus
What are the pros of IVF?
It can give an infertile couple a child
What are the cons of IVF?
Some women have strong reactions to the hormones
Some increased risk of cancers
Multiple births can happen
