The female reproductive system allows the human reproduction, through the use of the functions of its various organs.
What is the female reproductive system?
The female reproductive tract allows women to reproduce. The ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the uterus, the vagina and the vulva form it.
The ovaries
The ovary is formed of two almond shaped glands, or ovaries, each positioned in one of the two sides of the uterus. The ovaries play a dual role: in addition to producing the eggs for fertilization, they also secrete sexual hormones such as oestrogen, progesterone and a small amount of androgens that regulate all stages of the female reproductive functions (endocrine functions).
Fallopian tubes
The fallopian tubes (uterine tubes, or oviducts) are two symmetrical ducts that provide communications between the ovaries (predisposed to produce eggs to be fertilized) and the uterus (the organ where the conception and maturation of the fertilized egg occurs). The fallopian tubes represent the typical place where the fertilization process or the encounter between the ovule (female gamete) and sperm (male gamete) occur.
The uterus
The uterus is a muscle cable organ delegated to host the fertilized egg, to facilitate the development and deliver the foetus when the pregnancy comes to an end.
The vagina
The vagina is a duct formed by muscles and membranes that connects the last part of the neck of the uterus with the external environment. It is the last part of the female genital tract. The vagina is the organ with a main function to receive the sperm at the time of the sexual act. It also serves to facilitate the delivery of the foetus and the placenta at childbirth, and to allow passage of menstrual flow and all the products of uterine secretion.
The vulva
The vulva is the group of external, genital female organs. It is made up of large and small lips (labia majora and labia minora), the clitoris, the vulvar vestibule, the urethral orifice and the vaginal orifice. It is located under the Mount of Venus (the area of skin above the pubic symphysis).
The female reproductive cycle is the process of producing an ovum and preparing the uterus to receive a fertilized egg in order to begin pregnancy. An ovum that is produced but not fertilized and implanted in the uterus causes the reproductive cycle to reset through menstruation.
At birth there are about 1 to 2 million eggs available for fertilization, but by the time of puberty, only 300,000 remain. Out of those 300,000 only 500 will be ovulated during the reproductive lifetime of a woman while the remaining majority of eggs gradually die until they are depleted at menopause.
What function does the female reproductive system serve?
The function of the female reproductive system is to facilitate, through the collaboration of all its component bodies, the production and fertilization of an egg in order to establish a pregnancy and give life, as well as to facilitate the reproduction of the human race.
