Reproductive System Flashcards
What are the ovaries and what is their function?
They are the part of the female reproductive system where the eggs are held. They do oogenesis and hormone secretion of estrogen and progesterone
What are the oviducts and what is their function?
They are the tubes in which the egg travels to the uterus
What is the uterus and what is its function?
An muscular organism that is made of several layers, the inner layer is the endometrium and it is the place where an embryo grows.
What is the vagina and what is its function?
The tube between the uterus and vulva. It is acidic so as to be anti-microbial.
What is the vulva and its function?
External urogenital opening, surrounds openings to vagina and urethra. It acts as a protective barrier and entry way.
What is another name for the oviduct?
Fallopian tubes
What are the fundus and cervix of the uterus?
The fundus is the big part of the uterus and the cervix is the neck of their uterus
What is the endometrium and what is its function?
The lining of the uterus that is rich in blood for a zygote to attach
What is oogenesis?
Includes a developing egg (an oocyte) surrounded by follicle Cells, ovulation is the release of the oocyte from the follicles the follicle becomes the hormone-secreting corpus luteum after ovulation, that begins before birth and only truly ends after fertilization.
What is an ovum?
An egg
What is the relationship and differences between a follicle and an ovum?
An ovum is just the egg but the follicle is the egg plus all of the tissue and little cells surrounding the egg.
What is menstruation?
When the endothelium lining and the egg are shed out of the uterus
What is happening during the menstrual part of the cycle?
About 20 follicles continúe restarted development, endometrium sloughs off, FSH stimulates follicles. Progesterone drops and stimulates menstrual bleeding.
What happens during the preovulatoru stage?
One follicle becomes dominant, while others degenerate. Endometrium begins regeneration. The dormant follicle secretes estrogen. Estrogen inhibits FSH, causing degeneration of other follicles. Estrogen also stimulate repair of endometrium. LH spurs growth of dominant follicl.
What is happening during the ovulation stage?
Follicle Busts, releases oocyte
Continued endometrial regeneration
Ovulation caused by spikes in LH AND FSH a day or two before follicle ruptures
What is happening during the post- ovulatory stage.
Ruptured follicle becomes corpus luteum. Corpus luteum degenerates by day 28 in absence of fertilization. At about day 2w more follicles resume development for next cycle
Continued endometrial development for possible implantation.
Corpus Luteum secretes estrogen and progesterone. As CL degenerates, loss of progesterone causes menstruation.
What is endometriosis?
Endometrium in abdominal cavity still responding to men steal cycle
Where do the sperm and the oocyte usually meet?
In the uterus?
How many days can sperm survive inside a woman?
48 hours or 2 days
What are the 2 layers that a sperm must penetrate in order to get to the oocyte?
The corona radiata and the zona pellucida
What is the ZP3 protein, where is it, and what effect does it have on sperm?
A protein in the oocyte that the sperm binds with in the zona pellucida. It opens acrosome, which allows sperm to digest way in to the oocyte
What is polyspermy? What are the fast and slow blocks to polyspermy?
Multiple speed fertilizing the egg.
Fast block= oocyte depolarizers preventing more sperm from fusing with the oocyte membrane
Slow block= depolarization releases Ca2+ to turn off ZP3 and harden zona pellucida
What hormone mentioned in class does the zygote produce and why?
hCG= preserves the corpus luteum
What is an ectopic pregnancy?
Attachment in the oviduct, abdominal cavity, or cervix
What are stem cells? What is the difference between totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent stem cells?
Cells that develop into something else.
Totipotent= can become anything Pluripotent= can become many things, but not everything Multipotenet= develop into specific types of cells
Birth control pills are am artificial form of what hormone? How do the pills prevent pregnancy? The pills fool a woman’s body into thinking she is what stage of the reproductive cycle?
Progesterone and estrogen
Suppressed FSH, LH AND OVULATION by mimicking post- ovulatory stage
What are the testes?
Also called testicles they produce sperm
What is the epididymis?
Stores sperm until ejaculation, they are right on top of the testes
What is the vas deferens?
They carry sperm from the testes into abdomen during ejaculation
What is the ejaculatory duct?
Sperm and semen get mixed together here
What is the function of the urethra for males?
Main tube that runs through the penis that carries urine or semen
What is the inguinal canal?
Passage in the lower abdominal wall through which a testes descends into the scrotum
What are the seminiferous tubules and what is their function?
Little round things in the testes where the sperm are formed.
What are Sertoli cells? What are the 2 functions of Sertoli cells? Why do men need a blood/testes barrier?
Cells inside the spermatogenetic cells, 1) create blood/testes barrier 2) feel developing sperm, the man’s immune system would attack the sperm if there wasn’t one
What are the 3 parts of a mature sperm.
1) head
2) midpiece
3) tail
Where are Leydig cells and what do they produce?
They are between seminiferous tubules and they secrete testosterone
Why are the testes locatedkn the scrotum instead of the abdominal cavity?
It keeps the testes 2° cooler than the body temp so that sperm can live and develop.
What are the 3 accessory glands of the male reproductive system?
1) seminal vesicles 2) prostate gland 3) bulbourethral glands
What is the difference between sperm and semen?
Sperm is the reproductive cell and semen is the sperm + the ejaculatory fluid
What do seminal vesicles produce? Why do they add fructose? Why do they make the semen basic?
Semen, food for the sperm, neutralize acidity from urine
What does the prostate gland add to semen and why?
Base and citric acid to help burn the glucose for energy purposed
