Reproductive Physiology Basics- Female Flashcards
Female reproductive organs?
Ovaries
Uterus
Fallopian tube
Cervix
Where does implantation of an egg occur?
Uterus
What are the two parts of the uterus?
Body of uterus
Cervix (opening into uterus).
->uterus communicates externally through the vagina
Ovaries have two parts: the surface and the inner part of the ovary.
What are the two divisions of the inner part of the ovary?
Cortex
Medulla
->like the kidney :o (I think…)
What type of tissue makes up the surface of the ovary?
Connective tissue
(covered with a layer of simple cuboidal epithelium).
What does the connective tissue in the peripheral part of the cortex contain?
Ovarian follicles
What makes up an ovarian follicle?
One oocyte (egg) surrounded by a single layer of cells
What is found in the medulla of the ovaries?
Blood vessels which supply the ovary
->the medulla is the central bit so it makes sense that the blood vessels come through here :)
Two functions of the ovary?
Oocyte production
Steroid hormone production
How many oocytes/eggs mature per menstrual cycle?
1
What happens to the number of eggs with increasing age?
Number of eggs decreases with increasing age
->women have a finite number of eggs
Which steroid hormones are produced by the ovaries?
Oestrogen
Progesterone
Testosterone (but not as important as the other two!)
What is the function of oestrogen, a type of steroid hormone produced by the ovaries?
Develops and maintains female secondary sexual characters (breast and hair development, bone development).
What is the function of progesterone, a type of steroid hormone produced by the ovaries?
Prepares the endometrium for implantation in every menstrual cycle
When is the only time that primordial germ cell mitosis occurs?
Foetal life
->primordial follicles are then arrested in the first stages of meiotic division until puberty.
These primordial follicles make up the ovarian reserve
What happens to the primordial follicle in puberty when the myotic process resumes?
Converted into primary and secondary follicle
Diploid chromosome number?
46
Haploid chromosome number?
23
Before birth, how many chromosomes does the primary oocyte have?
46
->oogonium undergoes mitosis to form primary oocyte but this is direct duplication of cell so 46 chromosomes remain
After puberty, how many chromosomes does the secondary oocyte have?
23
->oocyte undergoes meiosis so chromosomes are halved
this lecture has good diagrams if you are wanting a more visual timeline :)