The female reproductive system includes the ovaries, oviducts, uterus, vagina, and external genitalia. The ovaries produce eggs and female sex hormones. The oviducts and uterus provide sites for fertilization, implantation, and nourishment of a fetus during pregnancy. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland regulate female reproduction through secretion of gonadotropins and sex hormones. The ovarian and menstrual cycles are regulated by these hormones and involve follicular development, ovulation, changes to the endometrium, and menstruation if fertilization does not occur.

1. Female
Reproductive
System

2. Objectives
• identify key human female reproductive structures
and describe their functions
• determine and describe the changes in the secretion
of gonadotropins and ovarian hormones and the
changes in the ovaries and endometrium during a
monthly cycle;

3. FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

4. Ovaries
• gonads
• produces the egg cells

5. Oviducts & Uterus
• Oviduct/ Fallopian tube –
cilia on the epithelial lining
helps collect the egg by
drawing fluid from the body
cavity into the oviduct
• Uterus – thick, muscular
organ that expand during
pregnancy
• Endometrium – inner lining
of the uterus that is richly
supplied with blood vessels
• Cervix – neck of the uterus

6. Vagina & Vulva
• Vagina – muscular but elastic
chamber that is the site of insertion
of the penis and deposition of sperm
• Vulva- collective term for external
genitalia
• Labia majora – thick fatty ridges
• Labia minora – pair of slender skin
folds
• Hymen – thin piece of tissue partly
covering the vaginal opening
• Clitoris – consist of erectile tissue
supporting a rounded glans covered
by a prepuce

7. Mammary Glands
with small sacs of epithelial
tissue that secretes milk
which drain into a series of
ducts that open at the nipple

8. Hormonal Control of
the Female
Reproductive System

9. Hormones
• body's chemical messengers and are part of the endocrine
system
• created by the endocrine glands
• travel through the bloodstream to tissues and organs, and
control most of our body's major systems
Hypothalamus
• synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, called
releasing hormones or hypothalamic hormones, and these
in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of hormones from
the pituitary gland.

10. Pituitary Gland

11. TROPIC hormones
• regulate the activity of endocrine cells or glands
Gonadotropins
• act on the male and female gonads and they support
gametogenesis in part by stimulating sex hormone
production
1. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
2. Luteinizing hormone (LH)

12. Sex Hormones
• Androgen principally testosterone
• Estrogen principally estradiol
• Progesterone

13. The Reproductive Cycles
1. OVARIAN CYCLE – cyclic events in the ovaries
releasing the egg cell
2. MENSTRUAL CYCLE – cyclic shedding of the
blood-rich endometrium
Hormone activity links the two cycles, synchronizing ovarian
follicle growth and ovulation with the establishment of a uterine
lining

14. The Reproductive Cycles
1. OVARIAN CYCLE
• Follicular phase
• Ovulation
• Luteal phase
2. MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• Proliferative phase
• Secretory phase
• Menstrual phase

15. Ovarian Cycle
• Follicular phase – a follicle grows and develop
• Ovulation – release of oocyte by a mature follicle
• Luteal phase – formation of corpus luteum

17. Menstrual Cycle
• Proliferative phase – development of the
functional layer of the endometrium
• Secretory phase – endometrium further thickens
• Menstrual phase – rupture and detachment of the
functional layer