14.2 Female Reproductive System

Question 1

What are the female gonads?

Answer 1

paired ovaries

Question 2

Where are the ovaries?

Answer 2

they lie in shallow depressions, one on each side of the upper pelvic cavity

Question 3

What are ovaries?

Answer 3

female sex organs that produce oocytes and sex hormones

Question 4

What is oognesis?

Answer 4

the production of an egg (oocyte)

Question 5

What is an oocyte?

Answer 5

female egg, the female gamete

Question 6

How are oocytes produced?

Answer 6

the ovaries usually alternate in producing one oocyte per month

Question 7

What is ovulation?

Answer 7

the process by which an oocyte bursts from an ovary and usually enters an oviduct

Question 8

What are the oviducts also called?

Answer 8

fallopian tubes, uterine tubes

Question 9

Where are the oviducts?

Answer 9

they extend from the uterus to the ovaries, but are not attached to the ovaries

Question 10

What do oviducts have?

Answer 10

fimbriae

Question 11

What are fimbriae?

Answer 11

fingerlike projections that sweep over the ovaries

Question 12

What happens when an oocyte bursts from an ovary during ovulation?

Answer 12

it is usually swept into an oviduct by the combined action of the fimbriae and the beating of the cilia that lines the oviducts

Question 13

When may an oocyte burst?

Answer 13

from an ovary during ovulation

Question 14

What is the function of the ovaries?

Answer 14

to produce oocyte and sex hormones

Question 15

What is the function of oviducts?

Answer 15

• conduct oocyte
• location of fertilization
• transport early zygote

Question 16

What is the function of uterus?

Answer 16

houses developing fetus

Question 17

What is the function of the cervix?

Answer 17

contains opening to uterus

Question 18

What is the function of the vagina?

Answer 18

• receives penis during sexual intercourse

- serves as a birth canal and as the exit for menstrual flow

Question 19

What happens to the oocyte once it’s in the oviduct?

Answer 19

it is propelled slowly by ciliary movement and tubular muscular contraction toward the uterus

Question 20

How long does an oocyte live?

Answer 20

~6-24 hours unless fertilization occurs

Question 21

What is fertilization?

Answer 21

the formation of a zygote in the oviduct

Question 22

What is a zygote?

Answer 22

cell formed by the union of two gametes

Question 23

Where does a developing embryo go?

Answer 23

arrives at the uterus after several days and then embeds, or implants, itself in the uterine lining, which has been prepared to receive it

Question 24

What is an ectopic pregnancy?

Answer 24

occasionally, the embryo may implant in the oviduct or elsewhere instead of the uterine lining

Question 25

What is the uterus?

Answer 25

a thick-walled, muscular organ about the size and shape of an inverted pear

Question 26

What do the oviducts join?

Answer 26

• joins the uterus at its upper end

- at the lower end, the CERVIX connects with the vagina nearly at a right angle

Question 27

What is the cervix?

Answer 27

narrow end of the uterus, which leads into the vagina

Question 28

Where does the development of the embryo take place?

Answer 28

in the uterus (womb) which is ~5 cm wide in usually state, but can stretch up over 30cm for the baby

Question 29

What is the endometrium?

Answer 29

the lining of the uterus that participates in the formation of the placenta, which supplies nutrients needed for embryonic and fetal development

Question 30

Describe the endometrium in nonpregnant females?

Answer 30

varies in thickness according to a monthly cycle of events called the uterine cycle

Question 31

What leads to a vaginal canal?

Answer 31

a small opening in the cervix

Question 32

What is a vagina?

Answer 32

a tube that lies at a 45 degree angle to the small of the back

Question 33

What is the mucosal lining of the vagina?

Answer 33

it lies in folds and can extend, which is especially important when the vagina serves as the birth canal, and it facilitates sexual intercourse

Question 34

What is the vulva?

Answer 34

the external organs of the female

Question 35

What does the vulva inclide?

Answer 35

• 2 large, hair-covered folds of skin called the labia majora
• 2 small folds lying just inside the labia majora called labia minora

Question 36

Where is the labia majora?

Answer 36

extends backward from the ‘mons pubis’ (fatty prominence underlying the pubic hair

Question 37

What is the glans clitoris?

Answer 37

the external portion of the clitoris

Question 38

What is the clitoris?

Answer 38

the organ of sexual arousal in females

Question 39

What does the clitoris contain?

Answer 39

like the penis, it contains a shaft of erectile tissue that becomes engorged with blood during sexual stimulation

Question 40

What does the cleft between the labia minora contain?

Answer 40

openings of the urethra and the vagina

Question 41

What is hymen?

Answer 41

a ring of tissue that may partially close the vagina, usually ruptured by sexual intercourse or by other types of physical activity

Question 42

What happens upon sexual stimulation?

Answer 42

• labia minora and the clitoris become engorged with blood
• breasts swell
• nipples become erect
• labia majora enlarges, reddens, and spreads away from the vaginal opening

Question 43

What happens to the vagina during sexual stimulation?

Answer 43

• expands and elongates

Question 44

What lubricates the vagina?

Answer 44

• blood vessels in the vaginal wall release small droplets of fluid that seep into the vagina and lubricate it
• mucus-secreting glands beneath the labia minora on either side of the vagina

Question 45

What stimulates the clitoris?

Answer 45

thrusting of the penis and the pressure of the pubic symphyses of the partners act to stimulate the clitoris, which may swell 2-3 times it’s usual size

Question 46

When does an orgasm occur?

Answer 46

at the height of sexual response

Question 47

What happens during an orgasm?

Answer 47

• blood pressure and pulse rate rise
• breathing quickens
• walls of the vagina, uterus, and uterine tubes contract rhythmically
• sensation of intense pleasure is followed by relaxation when organs return to their normal size