Reproductive System
A female reproductive system
The female reproductive system is made up of the organs and hormones that work together to
help human reproduce. Main function includes production of female sex hormones (oestrogen
and progesterone) to maintain sex characteristics, nurture new life and production of female
sex cells (eggs or ova). The female reproductive system is made up of internal and external
(secondary) organs.
Ovaries
The two ovaries (one of them is called an ovary) contain hundreds of undeveloped female
gametes (sex cells). These are called ova (one of them is called an ovum) or egg cells. Women
have these cells in their bodies from birth, whereas men produce new sperm continually.
Uterus and cervix
The uterus, also called the womb, is a muscular bag with a soft lining. The uterus is where a
baby develops until its birth.
The cervix is a ring of muscle at the lower end of the uterus. It keeps the baby in place while the
woman is pregnant.
,Vagina
The vagina is a muscular tube that leads from the cervix to the outside of the woman's body. A
man's penis goes into the woman's vagina during sexual intercourse.
Ovaries are primary sex organs in females. They are a pair of small glands situated on either
side of the abdomen. They produce egg cells and secrets female sex hormones oestrogen and
progesterone. Each month through ovulation one of the ovaries sheds a mature egg into the
fallopian tube. Fallopian tubes are narrow muscular tubes that are covered by finger like
fimbriae which move near to the ovary during ovulation. Ovulation is a part of your menstrual
cycle. It occurs when an egg is released from your ovary.
Fertilization of an egg occurs in these fallopian tubes if it isn’t fertilized within a day or so egg
will die. Fertilization happens when sperm is deposited into the vagina this must occur no
earlier than three days before or within one day after ovulation. The egg will remain in the
fallopian tube alive and fully functioning for only 12 to 24 hours, but sperm can live longer in
the female reproductive system it can live for up to 72 hours, but most will die before this. In
the fertilization process only one sperm will succeed in fertilizing the egg this happens when the
sperm penetrates the cell membrane and depositing the male genetic material into the female
cell the two then fuse together. When the egg has been fertilized up until the eighth week of
pregnancy the developing human is called an embryo. The embryo attaches to the lining of the
uterus. It begins to develop into a fetus and finally into a baby.
Development of the fetus
, The placenta
The placenta is an organ responsible for providing oxygen and nutrients and removing waste
substances. It grows into the wall of the uterus and is joined to the fetus by the umbilical cord.
The mother's blood does not mix with the blood of the fetus, but the placenta lets substances
pass between the two blood supplies:
oxygen and nutrients diffuse across the placenta from the mother to the fetus.
carbon dioxide and other waste substances diffuse across the placenta from the fetus to
the mother.
A female reproductive system
The female reproductive system is made up of the organs and hormones that work together to
help human reproduce. Main function includes production of female sex hormones (oestrogen
and progesterone) to maintain sex characteristics, nurture new life and production of female
sex cells (eggs or ova). The female reproductive system is made up of internal and external
(secondary) organs.
Ovaries
The two ovaries (one of them is called an ovary) contain hundreds of undeveloped female
gametes (sex cells). These are called ova (one of them is called an ovum) or egg cells. Women
have these cells in their bodies from birth, whereas men produce new sperm continually.
Uterus and cervix
The uterus, also called the womb, is a muscular bag with a soft lining. The uterus is where a
baby develops until its birth.
The cervix is a ring of muscle at the lower end of the uterus. It keeps the baby in place while the
woman is pregnant.
,Vagina
The vagina is a muscular tube that leads from the cervix to the outside of the woman's body. A
man's penis goes into the woman's vagina during sexual intercourse.
Ovaries are primary sex organs in females. They are a pair of small glands situated on either
side of the abdomen. They produce egg cells and secrets female sex hormones oestrogen and
progesterone. Each month through ovulation one of the ovaries sheds a mature egg into the
fallopian tube. Fallopian tubes are narrow muscular tubes that are covered by finger like
fimbriae which move near to the ovary during ovulation. Ovulation is a part of your menstrual
cycle. It occurs when an egg is released from your ovary.
Fertilization of an egg occurs in these fallopian tubes if it isn’t fertilized within a day or so egg
will die. Fertilization happens when sperm is deposited into the vagina this must occur no
earlier than three days before or within one day after ovulation. The egg will remain in the
fallopian tube alive and fully functioning for only 12 to 24 hours, but sperm can live longer in
the female reproductive system it can live for up to 72 hours, but most will die before this. In
the fertilization process only one sperm will succeed in fertilizing the egg this happens when the
sperm penetrates the cell membrane and depositing the male genetic material into the female
cell the two then fuse together. When the egg has been fertilized up until the eighth week of
pregnancy the developing human is called an embryo. The embryo attaches to the lining of the
uterus. It begins to develop into a fetus and finally into a baby.
Development of the fetus
, The placenta
The placenta is an organ responsible for providing oxygen and nutrients and removing waste
substances. It grows into the wall of the uterus and is joined to the fetus by the umbilical cord.
The mother's blood does not mix with the blood of the fetus, but the placenta lets substances
pass between the two blood supplies:
oxygen and nutrients diffuse across the placenta from the mother to the fetus.
carbon dioxide and other waste substances diffuse across the placenta from the fetus to
the mother.
