Reproductive system - done Flashcards
Label the following:
Label the following:
Label the following:
Label the following:
What hormones are involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis?
Hypothalamus = GnRH
Anterior pituitaty = LH and FSH (stimulate development of follicles)
What part of the follicles secrete oestrogen?
Theca granulosa cells
What effect does oestrogen have on the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary?
Negative feedback effect
What kind of hormone is oestrogen?
Steroid sex hormone
What is the most active version of oestrogen?
17-beta oestradiol
Where does oestrogen work?
On tissues with oestrogen receptors to promote female secondary sexual characteristics
What changes does oestrogen stimulate?
- Breast tissue development
- Development of female sex organs at puberty
- Blood vessel development in the uterus
- Development of the endometrium
What kind of hormone is progesterone?
Steroid sex hormone
Where and when is progesterone formed?
Corpus luteum after ovulation
After pregnancy where is progesterone mainly formed?
Placenta from 10 weeks gestation onwards
What does progesterone do?
Acts on tissues which have previously been stimulated by oestrogen
What does progesterone do?
Thickens and maintains the endometrium
Thickens the cervical mucus
Increases the body temperature
What age does puberty begin in girls and boys respectively?
Girls = 8-14
Boys = 9-15
What enzyme is found in adipose tissue which is important in the creation of oestrogen?
Aromatase
When may puberty be delayed?
- Low birth weight
- Chronic disease
- Eating disorders
- Athletes
What is the order of puberty in girls?
- Breast buds
- Pubic hair
- Menarche (first episode of mensturation)
What scale can be used to stage pubertal development?
Tanner scale
What hormone initially rises during puberty?
Growth hormone
In puberty what is released after GH and what is its function?
GnRH stimulates the release of FSH and LH
What does FSH and LH stimuate in the woman?
Production of oestrogen and progesterone
How does FSH and LH change just before menarche?
FSH levels plateau a year before
LH continues to rise and spike just before menarche
What suppresses GH in women?
Oestrogen
What are the two phases to the menstural cycle?
Follicular phase (start of mensturation to moment of ovulation)
Luteal phase (final 14 days of cycle)
Which cells have the potential to develop into eggs?
Oocytes
Which cells surround the oocytes?
Granulosa cells (forming follicles)
What are the 4 key stages of development of the follicles?
Primordial follicles
Primary follicles
Secondary follicles
Antral follicles (aka Graafian follicles)
When do primordial follicles mature into primary and secondary follicles?
Always occuring, independent of the menstural cycle
At what point do the follicles develop the receptors for FSH?
Secondary follicle stage (further development requires FSH)
At the start of the menstural cycle, what stimulates further development of the secondary follicles?
FSH
What secretes oestradiol in the woman?
Granulosa cells
What effect does this oestradiol have on the pituitary gland?
Negative feedback (reducing LH and FSH)
What effect does the rising oestrogen have on the cervical mucus?
Makes it more permeable allowing sperm to penetrate the cervix
What hormone spikes just before ovulation, causing the dominant follicle to release the ovum (an unfertilised egg)
Luteinising hormone
What happens to the follicle that releases the ovum?
Collapses and becomes the corpus luteum
What hormone does the corpus luteum secrete?
Progesterone
(and a little oestrogen)
What effect does the progesterone from the corpus luteum have?
Maintains endometrial lining
Causes cervical mucus to become thick and no longer penetrable
Where does human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) come from?
Syncytiotrophoblast of the embryo
What is the purpose of HCG?
Maintains the corpus luteum
What causes mensturation?
No production of hCG = corpus luteum degenerates = production of oestrogen and progesterone stops = endometrium breaks down and mensturation occurs
During mensturation where does prostalandins come from?
Stromal cells of the endometrium
What is the purpose of prostaglandins?
Encourages the endometrium to break down and uterus contracts
What day of the menstural cycle does mensturation occur on?
Day 1
Why does LH and FSH begin to rise at the beginning of the menstural cycle?
Due to negative feedback from the corpus luteum stopping (so progesterone and oestrogen decreases)
What layers of the endometrium are lost during mensturation?
Superficial and middle
What layer of the endometrium is kept during mensturation?
Basal layer
What type of cells are oocytes?
Germ cells - undergo meiosis to become mature ovum (ready for fertilisation)
How many chromosomes do ovum contain?
46
What layers surround the primary oocyte?
Pregranulosa cells
Surrounded by outer basal lamina layer
What are the three layers to the primary follicle?
- Primary oocyte in centre
- Zona pellucida
- Cuboidal shaped granulosa cells
Where does the zona pellucida come from in the primary follicles?
Secreted by the granulosa cells (they also secrete oestrogen)
What layer develops on top of the granulosa layer?
Theca folliculi
What are the two layers of the theca folliculi?
Theca interna and theca externa
What does the theca interna secrete?
Androgen hormones
What is the theca externa made up of?
Connective tissue containing smooth muscle and collagen
What is the difference between primary and secondary follicles?
Secondary are larger with small fluid-filled gaps between granulosa cells
Receptors for FSH
What is required for the further development of the secondary follicle?
Stimulation from FSH
What develops in the secondary follicle and what is this called?
Single large fluid-filled area in the granulosa called the antrum
Once the antrum is formed, what surrounds the oocyte now?
Corona radiata - made of granulosa cells (surrounding the zona pellucida and oocyte)
What causes the follicle to burst during ovulation?
LH surge (causes the smooth muscle of the theca externa to burst)