Based on the best selling text: An Introduction to Medical Terminology for Health Care (Fifth edition) by A.R.Hutton published by Elsevier Ltd
The interactive learning material in this unit is arranged into seven sections:
Note: FlashCards and a check list of combining forms for this unit are at the end of Section 6.
A short list of abbreviations, pathological conditions, clinical procedures and laboratory tests associated with the female reproductive system is available from the:Word Check
Back to IMT Topic ListThe female possesses paired reproductive organs (or gonads) known as
ovaries, these are located in the upper pelvic cavity on either side of
the uterus.
The ovaries produce reproductive cells known as ova or eggs that carry the
female genes to the next generation; they also secrete the female sex
hormones estrogen and progesterone. Ovaries pass through a regular cycle
in which one egg is released approximately every twenty-eight days. Each
egg passes into an oviduct where it may be fertilized by a sperm producing
a fertilized egg (or zygote).
If the egg is not fertilized it will disintegrate and pass out of the body
at menstruation. If fertilized, an egg may implant into the lining of the
uterus beginning pregnancy and forming an embryo. Pregnancy also known as
the period of gestation lasts for approximately forty weeks until birth.
During this period the embryo develops into a fetus and then into a baby.
At term, (the end of pregnancy), smooth muscle in the wall of the uterus
forcefully expels the baby through powerful rhythmical contractions called
labor.
Following birth (parturition), the new born infant is fed by milk secreted
from the breasts or mammary glands in the process of lactation.
The study of the female reproductive system and its disorders is known as
gynecology from gynec/o meaning woman. Although gynecology literally means
the study of women, it refers in medicine to the study of parts of the
body peculiar to women - their reproductive system. A gynecologist
specializes in the study of the female reproductive system, -ist
meaning a specialist who studies)
Look at the main components of the female reproductive system in Anatomy
exercises 1 and 2. You will study individual components shown in these
exercises as you move through each section.