Hello, everyone. In this lesson, we are going to be talking about the female reproductive anatomy. Okay. So, let's get into the lesson. And, first off, let's just go over some major anatomy pieces, and then we'll go into more detail. Okay. So first off, the ovaries are incredibly important for female organisms because these are going to be the places where they actually make the eggs, the female gametes. So eggs are going to be made in the ovaries, and they're going to be released periodically. Something interesting to know about female organisms, and human beings included, is that a female, when she is born, already has all of the eggs that she will ever make in her entire lifetime, and it's just that all of those eggs are held and then periodically released throughout her entire life. And whenever she no longer has enough eggs or she's no longer periodically releasing those eggs, that individual will go into menopause. But the ovaries hold all of the follicles, which create all of the eggs, and all of the eggs are already produced before the female's actually born. So she has all of her eggs for her entire life the moment she is born. Okay. So we know that these eggs are periodically released from the ovaries, and that's going to be during the process of ovulation. And whenever an egg is ovulated from the ovaries, it is going to travel down the oviduct. Now, different organisms have different types of oviducts. Organisms that do external fertilization, or actually have their eggs leave their body, are going to have oviducts. We have internal fertilization, so our oviducts don't lead to the external environment. They're going to lead to the interior of the woman's body into the uterus, so these are going to be called the fallopian tubes. These are mammalian oviducts that don't lead to the exterior of the body but lead from the ovaries to the uterus because the fetus develops inside the female. Now, that leads us to talk about the uterus. The uterus is also commonly called, in human beings, the womb. But what I want you guys to know is it's this hollow muscle structure, and its main job, its main focus is to be a place where the fetus actually develops. Okay, everyone? Now, the opening to the uterus is going to be called the cervix, and the cervix during childbirth is actually going to greatly dilate. If you've ever heard of a woman being 6 centimeters dilated or a certain number of centimeters dilated, we utilize that information, the dilation of the cervix, to know how close it is to the time of childbirth. And, in fact, the cervix should dilate to about 10 centimeters at the time of childbirth. So, the cervix, usually quite small, is going to be what opens up and allows the baby to leave the uterus. Now, there's also the lining of the uterus, which is incredibly important. And, this is called the endometrium. And, this is going to be the inner epithelial tissue of the uterus. And this is going to be what is going to change with each menstrual cycle, and it is going to be where the egg, or the zygote, I mean, actually implants into the wall of the uterus. That's going to be on the endometrium tissue. Now, there are many different tissues that make up the uterus. You can see the endometrium here, then there's the myometrium and the perimetrium. The endometrium is going to be the innermost one, and it's probably going to be the most important for this lesson because that's where the zygote actually implants. And this is going to be the tissue that is shed during menstruation. And it can also form the placenta if the woman does become pregnant. Now, you may have heard of endometriosis. This is going to be a condition in some women where the endometrium actually will grow outside of the uterus, and this can be incredibly painful to some women. So endometriosis deals with the endometrium, or inner layer of the uterus, and that's when it's not growing correctly and it can cause pain. So, you guys can see that this is going to be a diagram. Let me scroll down so you can see the other labels here. So this is going to be the basic diagram of the female genitalia, and you guys can see that there are 2 ovaries, one here and one here, and they are actually going to connect to the fallopian tubes, which you guys can see right here. And these fallopian tubes are going to lead into the uterus, and that's where the zygote will implant and the fetus will grow. And then, here we have the cervix, and this little area right here is going to greatly dilate, and it's going to allow the baby to pass from the uterus to the vagina, and then out of the mother, and that is the process of childbirth. Now, let me scroll down. This is going to be the same diagram right here. It's just showing you the position of the female genitalia in the woman, and you guys can see that it's just basically in the pelvic region. And a woman is going to have 2 ovaries on each side of her pelvis, and then she's going to have her uterus and all of that stuff in the middle. Okay? Alright. So, now let's talk about the rest of the anatomy. So, let me scroll down a little bit, so we can see what we are looking at. Okay. So, then we're going to have this is going to be the rest of the anatomy. And the vagina is going to be the muscular opening that comes before the uterus. You guys can see that? That's this right here. And the uterus is going to be what I'm highlighting in pink. You guys can see that the uterus is incredibly muscular. And it's going to have a lot of tissue that is there to support the growing baby. Now, the vulva is going to be composed of 2 different pieces of anatomy. But, basically, what I want you guys to know is these are the external features of the female genitalia, and they're mostly there just to protect the female genitalia from basically the outside world. So you have the labia majora, which encloses and protects the rest of the vulva, so the very outside. And then you have the labia minora, which encloses the vaginal and urethral openings. So, basically, it's just to cover everything up and make sure that it stays safe. And then you're going to have the clitoris, which is going to be the female form of erectile tissue. And you guys can see all of that in this really good image. I really like this picture because it shows you from the side view, while the one up here shows you from the, straight on view. But we always see that view, and I like this one because it shows you where everything is located in relation to everything else. So you guys can see that up here is going to be 1 ovary, and then you guys can actually see that the egg is going to travel down this tube right here into the uterus. So you guys can imagine that if a sperm is going to fertilize an egg, how far does it have to travel? It actually has to travel all the way up into the uterus, and then you guys may or may not know, but fertilization generally happens inside of the fallopian tube, so it has to travel a really long way. So, that is going to be the basis of the female genitalia. Okay, everyone. Let's go on to our next lesson.
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Biology2h 40m
- 2. Chemistry3h 40m
- 3. Water1h 26m
- 4. Biomolecules2h 23m
- 5. Cell Components2h 26m
- 6. The Membrane2h 31m
- 7. Energy and Metabolism2h 0m
- 8. Respiration2h 40m
- 9. Photosynthesis2h 49m
- 10. Cell Signaling59m
- 11. Cell Division2h 47m
- 12. Meiosis2h 0m
- 13. Mendelian Genetics4h 44m
- Introduction to Mendel's Experiments7m
- Genotype vs. Phenotype17m
- Punnett Squares13m
- Mendel's Experiments26m
- Mendel's Laws18m
- Monohybrid Crosses19m
- Test Crosses14m
- Dihybrid Crosses20m
- Punnett Square Probability26m
- Incomplete Dominance vs. Codominance20m
- Epistasis7m
- Non-Mendelian Genetics12m
- Pedigrees6m
- Autosomal Inheritance21m
- Sex-Linked Inheritance43m
- X-Inactivation9m
- 14. DNA Synthesis2h 27m
- 15. Gene Expression3h 20m
- 16. Regulation of Expression3h 31m
- Introduction to Regulation of Gene Expression13m
- Prokaryotic Gene Regulation via Operons27m
- The Lac Operon21m
- Glucose's Impact on Lac Operon25m
- The Trp Operon20m
- Review of the Lac Operon & Trp Operon11m
- Introduction to Eukaryotic Gene Regulation9m
- Eukaryotic Chromatin Modifications16m
- Eukaryotic Transcriptional Control22m
- Eukaryotic Post-Transcriptional Regulation28m
- Eukaryotic Post-Translational Regulation13m
- 17. Viruses37m
- 18. Biotechnology2h 58m
- 19. Genomics17m
- 20. Development1h 5m
- 21. Evolution3h 1m
- 22. Evolution of Populations3h 52m
- 23. Speciation1h 37m
- 24. History of Life on Earth2h 6m
- 25. Phylogeny2h 31m
- 26. Prokaryotes4h 59m
- 27. Protists1h 12m
- 28. Plants1h 22m
- 29. Fungi36m
- 30. Overview of Animals34m
- 31. Invertebrates1h 2m
- 32. Vertebrates50m
- 33. Plant Anatomy1h 3m
- 34. Vascular Plant Transport2m
- 35. Soil37m
- 36. Plant Reproduction47m
- 37. Plant Sensation and Response1h 9m
- 38. Animal Form and Function1h 19m
- 39. Digestive System10m
- 40. Circulatory System1h 57m
- 41. Immune System1h 12m
- 42. Osmoregulation and Excretion50m
- 43. Endocrine System4m
- 44. Animal Reproduction2m
- 45. Nervous System55m
- 46. Sensory Systems46m
- 47. Muscle Systems23m
- 48. Ecology3h 11m
- Introduction to Ecology20m
- Biogeography14m
- Earth's Climate Patterns50m
- Introduction to Terrestrial Biomes10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Near Equator13m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate Regions10m
- Terrestrial Biomes: Northern Regions15m
- Introduction to Aquatic Biomes27m
- Freshwater Aquatic Biomes14m
- Marine Aquatic Biomes13m
- 49. Animal Behavior28m
- 50. Population Ecology3h 41m
- Introduction to Population Ecology28m
- Population Sampling Methods23m
- Life History12m
- Population Demography17m
- Factors Limiting Population Growth14m
- Introduction to Population Growth Models22m
- Linear Population Growth6m
- Exponential Population Growth29m
- Logistic Population Growth32m
- r/K Selection10m
- The Human Population22m
- 51. Community Ecology2h 46m
- Introduction to Community Ecology2m
- Introduction to Community Interactions9m
- Community Interactions: Competition (-/-)38m
- Community Interactions: Exploitation (+/-)23m
- Community Interactions: Mutualism (+/+) & Commensalism (+/0)9m
- Community Structure35m
- Community Dynamics26m
- Geographic Impact on Communities21m
- 52. Ecosystems2h 36m
- 53. Conservation Biology24m
44. Animal Reproduction
Animal Reproduction
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