ANATOMY OF FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

INTRODUCTION
• The reproductive organ in female are those
which concerned with copulation, fertilization,
growth and development of fetus and its
subsequent exit to the outer world.
• The female reproductive organs can be
subdivided into
a) External genitalia
b) Internal genitalia
c) Accessory reproductive organs.
• The female reproductive system is designed to carry
out several functions. It produces the female egg cells
necessary for reproduction, called the ova or oocytes.
The system is designed to transport the ova to the site
of fertilization.
• Conception, the fertilization of an egg by a sperm,
normally occurs in the fallopian tubes. The next step for
the fertilized egg is to implant into the walls of the
uterus, beginning the initial stages of pregnancy.
• If fertilization and/or implantation does not take
place, the system is designed to menstruate . In
addition, the female reproductive system produces
female sex hormones that maintain the reproductive
cycle
 Functions:

 Produces the female Conception is the time when sperm

travels up through the vagina, into the
egg cells necessary for uterus, and fertilizes an egg found in
reproduction, called the the fallopian tube.
ova or oocytes.
 Transports the ova to
the site of fertilization
 The fertilization of an
egg by a sperm,
normally occurs in the
fallopian tubes.
 Produces female sex
hormones
 EXTERNAL GENTILIA
The vulva refers to those Individual differences in:
parts that are • Size
outwardly visible • Coloration
• The vulva includes: • Shape
• Mons pubis
• Labia majora
• Labia minora
• Clitoris
• Urethral opening
• Vaginal opening
• Perineum UNIT 3: FEMALE R EPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 4
 MONS PUBIS
• The triangular mound of fatty tissue that
covers the pubic bone
• It protects the pubic symphysis
• During adolescence sex hormones trigger the
growth of pubic hair on the mons pubis
• Hair varies in coarseness curliness, amount,
color and thickness

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 6

 LABIA MAJORA
• Referred to as the outer lips
• They have a darker pigmentation
• The Labia Majora:
• Protect the introitus and urethral openings
• Are covered with hair and sebaceous glands
• Tend to be smooth, moist, and hairless
• The labia majora contain sweat and oil-secreting
glands
• Become flaccid with age and after childbirth
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 7
 LABIA MINORA
• Referred to as the “inner lips”
• Made up of erectile, connective tissue that
darkens and swells during sexual arousal
• Located inside the labia majora
• They are more sensitive and responsive to
touch than the labia majora
• The labia minora tightens during
intercourse
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 8
 CLITORIS
• Highly sensitive organ composed of nerves, blood
vessels, and erectile tissue
• It is made up of a shaft and a glans
• Becomes engorged with blood during sexual
stimulation
• Key to sexual pleasure for most women
• Urethral opening is located directly below
clitoris

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 9

 VAGINAL OPENING
INTROITUS
• Opening may be covered by a thin sheath
called the hymen
• Using the presence of an intact hymen for
determining virginity is erroneous
• Some women are born without hymens
• The hymen can be perforated by many
different events

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 10

 PERINEUM
• The muscle and tissue located between the vaginal
opening and anal canal
• It supports and surrounds the lower parts of the
urinary and digestive tracts
• The perinium contains an abundance of nerve
endings that make it sensitive to touch
• An episiotomy is an incision of the perinium used
during childbirth for widening the vaginal opening

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 11

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 13
14
 VAGINA
• The vagina connects the cervix to the external genitals
• It is located between the bladder and rectum
• It functions :
• As a passageway for the menstrual flow
• For uterine secretions to pass down through the
introitus
• As the birth canal during labor
• With the help of two Bartholin’s glands becomes
lubricated during SI
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 15
 CERVIX
• The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina
• The cervical opening to the vagina is small
• This acts as a safety precaution against foreign
bodies entering the uterus
• During childbirth, the cervix dilates to
accommodate the passage of the fetus
• This dilation is a sign that labor has
begun
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 16
 UTERUS
• Commonly referred to as the womb
• A pear shaped organ about the size of a clenched fist
• It is made up of the endometrium, myometrium and
perimetrium
• Consists of blood-enriched tissue that sloughs off
each month during menstrual cycle
• The powerful muscles of the uterus expand to
accommodate a growing fetus and push it through
the birth canal

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 17

 Lies between rectum and bladder
 Weight: 50g-80g
 Divided into two portions by isthmus
Normal position is ante version and
flexion ante
 Parts-
body
or
Tcorpus,
6 (motor) and T10 and L1 (sensory)
parasympathetic
isthmu system on either side pelvic
nerve
s, and which consist of both motor and sensory
fiber
cervixS2, S3, S4.
 Blood
 The uterus is surported by the
following ligaments
• Round ligament
• Broad ligament
• Cardinal ligament
• Utero-sacral ligament
 FALLOPIAN TUBES
• Serve as a pathway for the ovum to the uterus
• Are the site of fertilization by the male sperm
• Often referred to as the oviducts or uterine
tubes
• Fertilized egg takes approximately 6 to 10 days
to travel through the fallopian tube to implant
in the uterine lining

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 20

 OVARIES
• The female gonads or sex glands
• They develop and expel an ovum each month
• A woman is born with approximately 400,000
immature eggs called follicles
• During a lifetime a woman release @ 400 to 500 fully
matured eggs for fertilization
• The follicles in the ovaries produce the female sex
hormones, progesterone and estrogen
• These hormones prepare the uterus for implantation
of the fertilized egg
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
 BREASTS
• Breast size is determined primarily
• Organs of sexual arousal
by heredity
• Contain mammary glands
• Size also depends on the existing fat
• Consist of connective tissue that
and glandular tissue
serves as support
• Breasts may exhibit cyclical
• Each breast contain 15-25
changes, including increased
clusters swelling and tenderness prior to
called lobes
menstruation
• Each lobule is connected by ducts
that open into the nipples • Benign breast changes refer to
• The nipples are made up of erectile fibrocystic disease
tissue • Lumps or masses that are
• The pigmented around the nipples noncancerous
are called the areola

UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 23

 MENSTRUATION
• Menarch, the onset of • Blood color can vary
menstruation signals the from bright red to dark
bodily changes that maroon
transform a female body • Usually occurs every 25
• Average age is 12.8 to 32 days
• Amount of bleeding • Women can experience
varies from woman to fluid retention,
woman cramping, mood swings,
• Expulsion of blood weight gain, breast
clots tenderness, diarrhea,
and constipation 26
UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 27
• Females of reproductive age experience cycles of
hormonal activity that repeat at about one-month
intervals. With every cycle, a woman's body prepares
for a potential pregnancy, whether or not that is the
woman's intention. The term menstruation refers to
the periodic shedding of the uterine lining.
• The average menstrual cycle takes about 28 days and
occurs in phases: the follicular phase, the ovulatory
phase (ovulation), and the luteal phase.
• There are four major hormones (chemicals that
stimulate or regulate the activity of cells or organs)
involved in the menstrual cycle: follicle-stimulating
hormone, luteinizing hormone, estrogen, and
progesterone.
 FOLLICULAR PHASE OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• This phase starts on the first day of your period. During the
follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, the following events occur:
• Two hormones, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing
hormone (LH) are released from the brain and travel in the blood
to the ovaries.
• The hormones stimulate the growth of about 15 to 20 eggs in the
ovaries each in its own "shell," called a follicle.
• These hormones (FSH and LH) also trigger an increase in the
production of the female hormone estrogen.
• As estrogen levels rise, like a switch, it turns off the production of
follicle-stimulating hormone. This careful balance of hormones
allows the body to limit the number of follicles that mature.
• As the follicular phase progresses, one follicle in one ovary
becomes dominant and continues to mature. This dominant
follicle suppresses all of the other follicles in the group. As a result,
they stop growing and die. The dominant follicle continues to
produce estrogen.
 OVULATORY PHASE OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• The ovulatory phase, or ovulation, starts about 14 days after the
follicular phase started. The ovulatory phase is the midpoint of the
menstrual cycle, with the next menstrual period starting about
two weeks later. During this phase, the following events occur:
• The rise in estrogen from the dominant follicle triggers a surge in
the amount of luteinizing hormone that is produced by the brain.
• This causes the dominant follicle to release its egg from the
ovary.
• As the egg is released (a process called ovulation) it is captured by
finger-like projections on the end of the fallopian tubes (fimbriae).
The fimbriae sweep the egg into the tube.
• Also during this phase, there is an increase in the amount and
thickness of mucous produced by the cervix (lower part of the
uterus). If a woman have intercourse during this time, the thick
mucus captures the man's sperm, nourishes it, and helps it to
move towards the egg for fertilization.
 LUTEAL PHASE OF THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• The luteal phase of the menstrual cycle begins right after
ovulation and involves the following processes:
• Once it releases its egg, the empty follicle develops into a
new structure called the corpus luteum.
• The corpus luteum secretes the hormone progesterone.
Progesterone prepares the uterus for a fertilized egg to
implant.
• If intercourse has taken place and a man's sperm has fertilized
the egg (a process called conception), the fertilized egg
(embryo) will travel through the fallopian tube to implant in
the uterus. The woman is now considered pregnant.
• If the egg is not fertilized, it passes through the uterus. Not
needed to support a pregnancy, the lining of the uterus
breaks down and sheds, and the next menstrual period
begins.