Female reproductive system. External genitalia. The external genitalia have the following parts,
- the mons pubis,
- the labia majora,
- the labia minora,
- the clitoris,
- the vestibule, and
- the greater vestibular glands.
This is the embryological development of the male and the female external genitalia. So, at ten weeks, they look nearly similar, but when fully developed, they do become different, though they have similar origins. Coming to the vagina, the vagina is a fibromuscular hollow tube. It extends from the vestibule to the uterus. It’s approximately 10 centimetre long and is lined by non-keratinized stratified epithelium. It ascends posteriorly and superiorly at an angle of 90 degrees. The anterior wall is around seven and a half centimetres, and the posterior wall is around nine centimetres. It’s important to know that if there is a loss of acidity in the vaginal pH, then it becomes more prone for infections which result in either leukorrhea or severe significant white discharge. Now the daughter land bacillus synthesizes lactic acid acting on the glycogen of the epithelial cells resulting in the acidity of the vaginal pH. Internal genitalia and ovary. The uterus, also known as the hysteria or the womb, is a hollow, pear-shaped fibromuscular organ. It’s situated in pelvis between the urinary bladder in front and the rectum behind.
The position of the uterus
The normal position of the uterus is one of antiversion and antiflexion. There could be physiological retroversion is, in around ten to fifteen percent of women. Causes for acquired retroversion include pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis or malignancy.
The adult nonpregnant uterus is about seven to eight centimeters long, six centimeters wide at fundus, and its walls are about 2.5 centimeters thick. The uterus can be divided into three parts, the body or the corpus of the uterus, the isthmus, and the cervix. The isthmus also becomes the lower uterine segment in pregnancy. Coming to the most important endometrium, which is the mucus of the uterus, it consists of a single layered columnar epithelium with glands. It also has the endometrial stroma, and there are two layers, the superficial or the functional layer and the deep or the basal layer. The deep layer remains constant, and during menstruation, only the superficial layer is shed periodically. The cervix. Adult nonpregnant cervix is around 2.5 centimetres or one inch long. It’s narrower than the uterus. It opens into the vagina at the external. There could be cervical incompetence during pregnancy resulting in recurrent pregnancy loss, and it’s also important to know that if in certain women, there could be a vasovagal reaction when the cervix is handled.
So, this is the difference between the nulliparous os and, cervical os after childbirth. Coming to the cervical secretion, cervical secretion is generally alkaline with a pH of 7.8. It has a high content of fructose, mucoproteins, and mucopolysaccharides. The secretions generally act as a plug, hindering the ascending infections from the vagina. Fructose has a nutritive action for spermatozoa and helps in fertilization, coming to the fallopian tubes, salphinx means trumpet or tube, The fallopian tubes lie on each side of the uterus in the upper margin of the broad ligament. It’s about 10 centimeter long, and it has a pinkish red appearance. It passes superiorly and laterally into the pelvis.
What are the functions of the fallopian tube?
It’s important for the transport of the ovum. It is a site for fertilization. It is one of the commonest places where ectopic pregnancy could occur, and disconnecting the fallopian tube causes sterilization, and that is the principle of doing a sterilization surgery. If there is a tubal blockage, this results in tubal factor infertility. So the parts of the fallopian tube are the intramural part, which is the narrowest, the isthmus, the ampulla, and the flower shaped fimbriae.
Coming to the ovaries, ovaries are a paired ovoid structure with an average volume of 11-centimetre cube in reproductively mature women. It has a dull white appearance, and it consists of dense fibrous tissue. The microstructure of the ovaries from outwards to inwards, we have a single layer of cuboidal epithelium. There’s a tough collagenous coat known as the tunica albuginea, the ovarian cortex, and the all-important medulla. Nearly eighty five percent of the ovarian cancers arise from the epithelium. This is how a normal cycle of ovulation takes place right from the primordial follicle to the corpus luteum.
The ovarian cortex, it contains the ovarian follicles at various stages of development and corpus lutea and their degenerative remnants depending on age and stage of the menstrual cycle. So, the medulla is highly vascular, and it contains numerous veins and spiral arteries, which enter the hilum from the meso ovarian and lie within a loose connective tissue stroma.
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- Contribute to advancements in fertility care through research and clinical innovation
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