✽ This is the monthly menstrual

bleeding (also called menstruation

or menstrual period) that you have
from your early teen years until your
menstrual periods end around age
50 (menopause)
✽ About once a month, the uterus
grows a new, thickened lining
(endometrium) that can hold a
fertilized egg .
✽ When there is no fertilized egg to
start a pregnancy, the uterus then
sheds its lining.
✽ The menstrual cycle is measured
from the first day of menstrual
bleeding, Day 1, up to Day 1 of your
next menstrual bleeding.
✽ A teen's cycles tend to be long (up
to 42 days), growing shorter over
several years.
✽ The average menstrual period is 5
days.
✽ The amount of blood loss every
menstrual period is 30 to 80 ml.
The normal color of the menses is
dark red that contains mucus and
endometrial cells.
 Organs Involved in Menstruation

❋ Hypothalamus- stimulates
anterior pituitary gland to begin
production of gonadotropic
hormones.
❋ Pituitary gland- under the
influence of LHRH, the anterior
pituitary gland produces 2
hormones that act on the ovaries
to further influence menstruation.
- FSH : a hormone that is active
early in a cycle & is responsible
for maturation of the ovum
• LH : a hormone that becomes
most active at the midpoint of
the cycle & is responsible for
ovulation or release of the
mature egg cell from the ovary,
and growth of uterine lining.
❋ Ovaries –one ovum matures in
one or the other ovary & is
discharge from it each month.
❋ Uterus – stimulation from the
hormones produced by the
ovaries causes specific monthly
effects on the uterus
Estrogens ( Hormone for Woman)

1.Stimulate the growth, development,

and maintenance of female
reproductive structures, secondary
sex characteristics and the breast.
2.They help regulate fluid and
electrolyte balance.
3.The stimulate protein synthesis
4.They lower blood cholesterol levels
5.Spinnbarkeit and ferning
6.Thickening of the endometrium
Progesterone
❋ Is secreted mainly by the corpus
luteum and works with estrogen to
prepare the endometrium for
implantation and mammary glands
for lactation.
❋ Decrease GI motility
❋ Increase permeability of kidney to
lactose & dextrose
❋ Responsible for the mood swings
of the mother
❋ Mammary gland development
• The Follicular Phase: Days 1 through 13
• In response to follicle stimulating hormone
(FSH) released from the pituitary gland in the
brain, ultimately one egg matures.
• Ovulation: Day 14
• At about day 14, in response to a surge of
luteinizing hormone, the egg is released from
the ovary.
• The egg travels through the fallopian tube
toward the uterus.
The Luteal Phase: Days 14 through 28
• The remains of the follicle become the corpus
luteum which releases progesterone
• Proliferative Phase: Days 5 -14
• The uterine lining increases rapidly
in thickness, and the uterine glands
proliferate and grow.
• Secretory Phase: Days 14 through
28
• When an egg is not fertilized, the
corpus luteum gradually disappears,
estrogen and progesterone levels
drop, and the thickened uterine
lining is shed. This is menses (your
period).
Time of ovulation

• An easy way to approximate the

time of ovulation for women with
regular cycles is to subtract 16
from the number of days in the
cycle and then add 4. This will
calculate the span of days in which
ovulation is most likely to occur.
Signs & Symptoms of Ovulation

• Mittlelschmerz – abdominal
tenderness on left/right iliac
regions,brought about by
peritoneal irritation due to blood
coming out from the graafian
follicle.
• Spinnbarkeit – vaginal secretion
is clear & transparent
• Change in vaginal
mucus
• Goodel’s sign
• Mood changes
• Breast tenderness
• Increased levels of
Progesterone
• Change in basal body
temperature
Ovum – from ovulation to fertilization
Zygote – from fertilization to implantation
Embryo – from implantation to 5-8 weeks
Fetus – from 5-8 weeks until term
Conceptus – Developing embryo or fetus
And placental structure throughout pregnancy
Process of Fertilization

• Fertilization ( Conception,
Fecundation)
- is the union of an ovum and a
spermatozoon. This usually
occurs in the outer third of
fallopian tube.
 Fertilization

• Usually only one of a woman’s ova will reach maturity

each month. Once the mature ovum is released,
fertilization must occur fairly quickly because an ovum
is capable of fertilization nfor only 24 hours (48 hours
at the most).
• After that time, it atrophies and becomes
nonfunctional. Because the functional life of a
spermatozoon is also about 48 hours, possibly as long
as 72 hours, the total critical time span during which
sexual relations must occur for fertilization to be
successful is about 72 hours (48 hours before
ovulation plus 24 hours afterward).
 Fertilization
• As the ovum is extruded from the graafian follicle of an
ovary with ovulation, it is surrounded by a ring of
mucopolysaccharide fluid (the zona pellucida) and a circle
of cells (the corona radiata).
• The ovum and these surrounding cells (which increase the
bulk of the ovum and serve as protective buffers against
injury) are propelled into a nearby fallopian tube by
currents initiated by the fimbriae—the fine, hairlike
structures that line the openings of the fallopian tubes. A
combination of peristaltic action of the tube and movements
of the tube cilia help propel the ovum along the length of
the tube.
 Fertilization

• At the time of ovulation, there is a reduction in the

viscosity (thickness) of the cervical mucus, which
makes it easy for spermatozoa to penetrate it. Sperm
transport is so efficient close to ovulation that
spermatozoa deposited in the vagina generally reach
the cervix within 90 seconds and the outer end of a
fallopian tube within 5 minutes after deposition.
• Spermatozoa move through the cervix and the body of
the uterus and into the fallopian tubes, toward the
waiting ovum by the combination of movement by their
flagella (tails) and uterine contractions.
 Fertilization
• Capacitation is a final process that sperm must undergo to
be ready for fertilization. This process, which happens as
the sperm move toward the ovum, consists of changes in
the plasma membrane of the sperm head, which reveal the
sperm-binding receptor sites.
• Hyaluronidase (a proteolytic enzyme) is released by the
spermatozoa and dissolves the layer of cells protecting the
ovum. Under ordinary circumstances, only one
spermatozoon is able to penetrate the cell membrane of
the ovum. Once it penetrates the cell, the cell membrane
changes composition to become impervious to other
spermatozoa.
 Implantation

• Once fertilization is complete, a zygote migrates over the

next 3 to 4 days toward the body of the uterus, aided by
the currents initiated by the muscular contractions of the
fallopian tubes. During this time, mitotic cell division, or
cleavage, begins.
• The first cleavage occurs at about 24 hours; cleavage
divisions continue to occur at a rate of about one every
22 hours. By the time the zygote reaches the body of the
uterus, it consists of 16 to 50 cells. At this stage, because
of its bumpy outward appearance, it is termed a morula
(from the Latin word morus, meaning “mulberry”).
 Implantation
• Large cells tend to collect at the periphery of the ball,
leaving a fluid space surrounding an inner cell mass. At
this stage, the structure becomes a blastocyst. It is this
structure that attaches to the uterine endometrium. The
cells in the outer ring are trophoblast cells.
• Implantation, or contact between the growing structure
and the uterine endometrium, occurs approximately 8 to
10 days after fertilization.
• The structure brushes against the rich uterine
endometrium (in the second [secretory] phase of the
menstrual cycle), a process termed apposition. It
attaches to the surface of the endometrium (adhesion)
and settles down into its soft folds (invasion).
 Implantation

• The blastocyst is able to invade the endometrium

because, as the trophoblast cells on the outside of
the structure touch the endometrium, they produce
proteolytic enzymes that dissolve any tissue they
touch. This action allows the blastocyst to burrow
deeply into the endometrium and receive some basic
nourishment of glycogen and mucoprotein from the
endometrial glands. As invasion continues, the
structure establishes an effective communication
network with the blood system of the endometrium.
• Implantation or contact between
the growing structure and the
uterine endometrium occurs
approximately 8 to 10 days after
fertilization.
• Apposition – the blastocyst
brushes against the rich uterine
endometrium
• Adhesion – it attaches to the
surface of the endometrium
• Invasion – the blastocyst settles
down into its soft folds.
• ***once the zygote
implanted it is an EMBRYO.