FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE

SYSTEM- PART 1
LECTURE – 3 → HUMAN REPRODUCTION
• Parts → pair of ovaries, oviducts, a uterus, cervix, vagina.
• Accessory glands → Mammary glands
• Primary female sex organ → Ovaries – produces ova and secretes the female sex hormones.
Estrogens and progesterone responsible for the development secondary female sex characters
and cause cyclic changes in uterus.
OVARIES

• Small, almond like flattened bodies, about 2-4 cm in length and connected to pelvic wall and uterus
by ligaments.
• Located near kidneys and remain attached to abdominal cavity through mesovarium ligament.
Structure of ovaries:
Free surface is covered (enclosed by germinal epithelium. This epithelium continuous to the
abdominal lining called peritoneum.
The ovaries made of tissue – stroma, dividing into inner medulla and outer cortex. Below the
germinal epithelium is tunica albuginea.
• Outer cortex → numerous sac like oval masses – Ovarian follicles. It is ovum + several layers of
follicular granulosa.
• Medulla → contains loose connective tissue, blood vessels, smooth muscle fibres.
FALLOPIAN TUBE (OVIDUCTS)
• Pair of long(10-12 cm), tubular, ciliated structure between ovary to uterus.
• The ovaries covered by fingerlike projections of fimbriae - margin of infundibulum. They help in
collection of ovum after release.
• Infundibulum is the funnel shaped part closer to ovary and opens into abdominal cavity.
• It then leads to wider part of oviduct – Ampulla, which then further narrows down to the
isthmus.

Function → It is the site of fertilization. It also conducts the ovum or zygote to the uterus.
UTERUS
• Large, hollow, muscular, inverted pear shaped structure present in pelvis between bladder and
rectum. It is suspended by mesometrium ligaments. The parts are:
• Fundus → dome shaped part above the opening of oviducts.
• Corpus/body → middle and the main part
• Cervix → the lower narrow part that opens into vagina. It is formed by most powerful sphincter
muscles in the body.
The wall of uterus has outer epithelial perimetrium layer, the middle smooth muscular myometrium
layer and the inner highly vascularized endometrium layer.
Function→ Site of foetal growth during pregnancy. Also forms placenta.
VAGINA
• Long fibro – muscular tube. Highly vascular tube lined internally by mucus membrane.
• The folds internally are vaginal rugae, lined by non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium.
• Vaginal canal + cervical canal ➔ Birth canal.
• The vaginal orifice partially covered by membranous structure → Hymen.
• The vaginal lining is devoid of glands.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS