Alvin Langer

The female reproductive system

Introduction The female reproductive system is made up of the sex organs and associated structures, both remote and near. The female genital tract provides an avenue for the transport of spermatozoa from their point of deposition in the vagina to the place where fertilization of the released oocyte occurs. The function of the ovaries is regulated such that one of them produces an oocyte each month. The release of the oocyte from the ovary is timed to correspond to the period when the reproductive tract is best suited for implantation if this oocyte happens to become fertilized. If fertilization and/or implantation do not occur, the changes in the reproductive tract are rapidly reversed to allow a new cycle of changes to commence. This ensures that the possibility of fertilization and implantation is always maintained in each new cycle. The female sex organs The female sex organs can be broadly grouped into two: the internal and external genitalia (Table 2.1 and Figures 2.1–2.3). The vulva is another name for the external genitalia. The mons pubis (or mons veneris) is the hair bearing area of skin overlying the pubic symphysis (which is the joint formed between the two pubic bones in front). Underneath the skin is a pad of fat which provides some cushioning between the pubic bones of both partners during sexual intercourse. This hair bearing skin extends backwards on either side of the vaginal introitus (vaginal opening) to become the labia majora.