RT Book, Section
A1 Mescher, Anthony L.
SR Print(0)
ID 1160663761
T1 The Female Reproductive System
T2 Junqueira’s Basic Histology: Text and Atlas, 15e
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260026177
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1160663761
RD 2024/04/23
AB The  female  reproductive  system  consists  of  the  paired  ovaries  and  oviducts  (or  uterine  tubes),  the  uterus,  the  vagina,  and  the  external  genitalia  (Figure  22–1).  This  system  produces  the  female  gametes  (oocytes),  provides  the  environment  for  fertilization,  and  holds  the  embryo  during  its  complete  development  through  the  fetal  stage  until  birth.  As  with  male  gonads,  the  ovaries  produce  steroidal  sex  hormones  that  control  organs  of  the  reproductive  system  and  influence  other  organs.  Beginning  at  menarche,  when  the  first  menses  occurs,  the  reproductive  system  undergoes  monthly  changes  in  structure  and  function,  which  are  controlled  by  neurohormonal  mechanisms.  Menopause  is  a  variably  timed  period  during  which  the  cyclic  changes  become  irregular  and  eventually  disappear.  In  the  postmenopausal  period  the  reproductive  organs  slowly  involute.  Although  the  mammary  glands  do  not  belong  to  the  genital  system,  they  are  included  here  because  they  undergo  changes  directly  connected  to  the  functional  state  of  the  reproductive  organs.