Two functions of the female reproductive system are similar to the functions of the male reproductive system: producing gametes and secreting a major sex hormone. In the case of females, however, the gametes are eggs, and they are produced by the ovaries. The hormone is estrogen, which is the main sex hormone in females. Estrogen has two major roles: During adolescence, estrogen causes the changes of puberty. It causes the reproductive organs to mature. It also causes other female traits to develop. For example, it causes the breasts to grow and the hips to widen. During adulthood, estrogen is needed for a woman to release eggs from the ovaries. The female reproductive system has another important function, which is not found in males. It supports a baby as it develops before birth. It also gives birth to the baby at the end of pregnancy. The female reproductive organs include the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina. These organs are shown in Figure 22.3, along with some other structures of the female reproductive system. Find each organ in the drawing as you read about it below. For a cartoon about the female reproductive system, watch this video: [Link] The two ovaries are small, oval organs on either side of the abdomen. Each ovary contains thousands of eggs. However, the eggs do not develop fully until a female has gone through puberty. Then, about once a month, an egg is released by one of the ovaries. The ovaries also secrete estrogen. The two fallopian tubes are thin tubes that are connected to the uterus and extend almost to the ovaries. The upper end of each fallopian tube has fingers (called fimbriae) that sweep an egg into the fallopian tube when it is released by the ovary. The egg then passes through the fallopian tube to the uterus. If an egg is fertilized, this occurs in the fallopian tube. The uterus is a hollow organ with muscular walls. The uterus is where a baby develops until birth. The walls of the uterus stretch to accommodate the growing fetus. The muscles in the walls contract to push the baby out during birth. The uterus is connected to the vagina by a small opening called the cervix. The vagina is a cylinder-shaped organ that opens to the outside of the body. The other end joins with the uterus. Sperm deposited in the vagina swim up through the cervix, into the uterus, and from there into a When a baby girl is born, her ovaries contain all of the eggs they will ever produce. But these eggs are not fully developed. They develop only after the female reaches puberty at about age 12 or 13. Then, just one egg develops each month until she reaches her 40s or early 50s. Human eggs are very large cells. In fact, they are the largest of all human cells. You can even see an egg without a microscope. Its almost as big as the period at the end of this sentence. Like a sperm cell, an egg cell is a haploid cell with half the number of chromosomes of other cells in the body. Unlike a sperm cell, the egg lacks a tail and contains a lot of cytoplasm. Egg production takes place in the ovaries. It occurs in several steps: 1. Before birth, special cells in the ovaries go through mitosis to make identical daughter cells. 2. The daughter cells then start to divide by meiosis. However, they go though only the first of the two cell divisions of meiosis at this time. They remain in that stage until the girl goes through puberty. 3. After puberty, an egg develops in an ovary about once a month. As you can see in Figure 22.4, the egg rests in a nest of cells called a follicle. The follicle and egg grow larger and go through other changes. 4. After a couple of weeks, the egg bursts out of the follicle and through the wall of the ovary. This is called ovulation. After ovulation occurs, the moving fingers of the nearby fallopian tube sweep the egg into the tube. Fertilization may occur if sperm reach the egg while it is
Output: __small opening that connects the uterus to the vagina