Pregnancy And Parturition Flashcards
What directly determines when mesntruation occurs?
Drop in progesterone.
If fertilization happens, hormones don’t drop and mesntruation doesnt happen
What are the 4 stages of pregnancy?
Initiation (fertilization, implantation, secretion of HCG to rescue c.l.)
Gestation
Parturition
Lactation
Where does fertilization occurs?
Fallopian tube (usually upper third)
When must fertilization occur?
Within 24 hrs of ovulation
Sperm can survive longer 2-5 days so u can get pregnant if u have sex before ovulation
What does the female body do to aid in sperm migration?
Contractions of myometrium
Upward contractions of Fallopian tube muscle
Allurin relased by mature eggs- chemoattractant for sperms to reach egg in ampulla of Fallopian tube **
What is Allurin
The chemoattractant released by mature eggs to help allure the sperm to the egg
What is the optimal site of fertilization?
Ampulla of oviduct
How long after ejaculation will the sperm get into the fertilization site?
30-60 min
What percentage of the ejaculated sperm will make it to the fertilization site?
0.001%
What percentage of ejaculated sperm will even make it into the uterus?
0.1%
What is sperm capacitation?
As soon as the sperm gets into the female, the sperm gets “activated” via altering the surface characteristics of the sperm **
What is required for the sperm to be able to swim through the cervix?
Alkaline pH
Prostate gland secretions help with this, and estrogen helps make the mucus watery to allow them to swim
What causes the myometrial contractions that assist the sperm in their journey though the uterus?
Prostaglandins in the semen
Estrogen-primed tissue
What is the process of sperm capacitation?
While migrating through the female reproductive tract, cholesterol on the outer surface of the sperm is removed, surface proteins are removed, and calcium influx into the spermy worm increases the motility
How do sperm penetrate the corona radiata?
Its easy they just swim right through no special tricks needed.
What happens after sperm penetrate the corona radiata?
They will bind to the ZP3 protein on the zone pellucida
Acrosomal reaction occurs- hydrolysis enzymes are released onto the zone pellucida
What is acrosin?
The hydrolytic enzyme released from sperm that allow it to penetrate the zone pellucida
How many sperm will undergo the acrosomal reaction?
Hundreds of them-it requires a ton of them to degrade the zone pellucida, even though only one sperm will win
What is the zona reaction?
Its a structural change in the zona pellucida that prevents polyspermy.
How does the zona reaction occur?
The second that fertilin* on the sperm’s head binds to an integrin* receptor on the ovum’s membrane, there is a release of cortical granules that degrade ZP3 proteins and harden glycoproteins on the zona pellucida
What signals the ovum to complete its 2nd meiotic division and extrude the 2nd polar body?
Zona Reaction
In the zona reaction _____on the sperm’s head binds to _____ receptor on the ovums membrane
Fertilin
Integrin
Fertilized ovum divides (meiotically/mitotically_
Mitotically
At what stage is a fertilized ovum capable of implantation?
Blastocyst phase (1 week after fertilization)
What days of the mesntrual cycle are the optimal period for implantation? Why?
Days 24-28 due to the action of progesterone
(You want the progesterone to have been working for a few days making the uterus ready to make a baby)
*******WAS IN RED
When will hCG be detectable in the serum?
After implantation is completed (8-11 days after conception)
What rescues the corpus luteum and keeps it from degrading into a corpus albicans when the egg was fertilized?
Placental hCG**WAS IN RED
How many days after ovulation will the blastocyst enter the uterine cavity
4 days
How many days after ovulation will hCG rescale the corpus luteum?
10 days
How long after implantation does it take for the placenta to be well-established and operational
5 weeks after implantation
What prevents immunologic rejection of the fetus?
The placenta
*reason why pregnant woman may be slightly immunocompromised
What are the 3 hormones secreted by the placenta?
hCG- maintains corpus luteum until placenta takes over function in last 2 trimesters
Estrogen- essential for maintaining normal pregancy
Progesterone- essential for normal preganncy
What do we thing is the causative agent of morning sickness?
hCG
What are the actions of hCG?
Same as LH: stimulate the corpus luteum to secrete progesterone and estrogen
When do hCG levels decline?
When the placenta takes over the secretion of estrogen and progesterone (~3 months gestation)
What hormone is detected by most pregnancy tests?
hCG
When do hCG levels peak?
9-12 weeks gestation, then they decline to a stable plateau
How would hCG levels rise if there was an ectopic pregnancy?
They would rise more slowly (no placenta?)
How would hCG levels rise if there was a hydatidiform mole? (A noncancerous tumor that results from an unviable pregnancy)
They would rise slowly continuously (never decline)
What would the rise of hCG levels look like if the fetus died?
Levels would rise normally but then fall with a half life of 24 hrs