The female and male reproductive systems share many similarities. Both are modulated by the effects of various hormones. Some of these include gonadotropin-releasing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone. Likewise, endocrine abnormalities in both females and males can result in reproductive system dysfunction. Among females, progesterone deficiency may cause infertility. In males, sterility can result from insufficient gonadotropins.
Human reproduction requires the complex interplay of multiple anatomic and physiologic systems. Various interactions between the central nervous system and the gonads determine the levels of various hormones. These endocrine signals provide a mechanism by which different reproductive system processes are controlled and coordinated.
The primary female reproductive organs include the vagina, the uterus, the uterine tubes, and the ovaries. The vagina is a tubular anatomic structure. It leads from the external genitalia to the muscular uterus. The uterus is approximately triangular in shape. At one end, it protrudes into the posterior wall of the vagina to form the uterine cervix. At the other end, uterine tubes extend from each of the two superior corners. The uterine tubes curve laterally and posteriorly around the wall of the pelvic cavity. Eventually, the tubes come in contact with the ovaries: One ovary is associated with the distal opening of each uterine tube (1:617).
Female reproductive system function is characteristically cyclical in nature. The female sexual cycle is controlled by complex interactions between a number of different hormones (1:609-610). At birth, females possess several hundred thousand immature ova, or primary oocytes. Following puberty, these oocytes mature sequentially. During each monthly sexual cycle, the follicular cells surrounding several oocytes begin to proliferate. Within each ovary, these cells eventually form ...