FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ANATOMY This information is important because it will raise your level of awareness and understanding about your physical body. It is imperative that you learn the changes you can expect to experience from menarche to menopause as you live with your female reproductive system UNIT 3: FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 1 Mr. Vasco Domic EXTERNAL GENTILIA • The vulva refers to those parts • Individual differences that are outwardly visible • The vulva includes: in: • Mons pubis • Size • Labia majora • Coloration • Labia minora • Clitoris • Shape • Urethral opening • Of external gentalia • Vaginal opening are common • Perineum UNIT 3: FEMALE 2 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM UNIT 3: FEMALE 3 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 4 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 • Become flaccid with age and after childbirth UNIT 3: FEMALE 5 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 6 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM CLITORIS • Highly sensitive organ composed of nerves, blood vessels, and erectile tissue • Located under the prepuce • 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 7 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM FEMALE UNIT 3: FEMALE 8 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 9 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 10 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM INTERNAL GENITALIA • The internal genitalia consists of the: • Vagina • Cervix • Uterus • Fallopian Tubes • Ovaries UNIT 3: FEMALE 11 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM UNIT 3: FEMALE 12 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 13 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 14 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM PERINEUM UNIT 3: FEMALE 15 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 16 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OVIDUCTS UNIT 3: FEMALE 17 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 18 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM UNIT 3: FEMALE 19 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 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 20 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM BREASTS • Organs of sexual arousal • Breast size is determined primarily by heredity • Contain mammary glands • Size also depends on the • Consist of connective tissue that existing fat and glandular tissue serves as support • Breasts may exhibit cyclical • Each breast contain 15-25 changes, including increased clusters called lobes swelling and tenderness prior to • Each lobule is connected by menstruation ducts that open into the nipples • The nipples are made up of • Benign breast changes refer to erectile tissue fibrocystic disease • The pigmented around the • Lumps or masses that are nipples are called the areola noncancerous UNIT 3: FEMALE 21 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM UNIT 3: FEMALE 22 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM BREAST SELF- EXAMINATION • Women need to examine their breasts monthly BSE • This is a proactive approach to detect possible breast cancer • A supplement to clinical exams and mammography • Best time for a BSE is a week after menstruation UNIT 3: FEMALE 23 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM BREAST SELF EXAM UNIT 3: FEMALE 24 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM MENSTRUATION • Menarch, the onset of • Blood color can vary from menstruation signals the bodily bright red to dark maroon changes that transform a female • Usually occurs every 25 to 32 body days • Average age is 12.8 • Women can experience fluid • Amount of bleeding varies from retention, cramping, mood woman to woman swings, weight gain, breast • Expulsion of blood clots tenderness, diarrhea, and constipation UNIT 3: FEMALE 25 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM UNIT 3: FEMALE 26 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM PITUITARY HORMONES UNIT 3: FEMALE 27 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM FOLLICLE DEVELOPMENT UNIT 3: FEMALE 28 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OVULATION UNIT 3: FEMALE 29 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OVARIAN HORMONES UNIT 3: FEMALE 30 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM SEX HORMONES • Follicle stimulating hormone • Both FHS and LH are FHS- • Luteinizing hormone LH- produced in the signals ovulation pituitary gland • Estrogen- produced throughout • Both estrogen and the menstrual cycle • Progesterone-produced during progesterone are second half of cycle produced by the • Contributes to thickening of the follicles in the ovaries endometrium which is shed during menstrual phase if fertilization does not take place UNIT 3: FEMALE 31 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM DYSMENORRHEA • Painful menstrual cramps • Painful menses without evidence of a physical abnormality • Believed to be normal body response to uterine contractions • Other symptoms : • Nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal disturbances, and fainting • Prostaglandins cause forceful, frequent uterine contractions called cramps • Fibroids, polyps, IUD, PID, or endometriosis UNIT 3: FEMALE 32 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM ENDOMETRIOSIS • Common cause of dysmennorrhea, dyspareunia, and infertility • Endometrium fragments and lodges in other parts of the pelvic cavity • Causes inflammation, bleeding, scarring,and adhesions • Causes are still being studied • Treated through hormonal therapy, laparoscopic surgery, or major surgical management UNIT 3: FEMALE 33 REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM .