Body Basics
Body Basics
You can certainly get pregnant without a Ph.D. in human physiology, but sometimes it’s nice to know what’s in your reproductive tract. Here are just a few basics to help you gain more respect for the organs that are instrumental in pregnancy.
Your Cervix
In Latin, cervix actually means “neck,” and it’s easy to see the origin of this name. Located at the neck of your uterus, your cervix is only about an inch “vide but its opening is even smaller so it car
protect your uterus from germs or other unwanted invaders. Connected to your uterus, your cervix opens mid-cycle and the reason it opens mid-cycle is that nature has created a wonderful term. When you ovulate, the cervix gets larger and the cervical mucus changes. You may notice a mucus discharge in the middle of your menstrual cycle when this mucus consistency changes. Before and after this time, the cervical mucus is thick and viscous to keep your system closed. Only at the time of ovulation, does your cervix dilate and the mucus change so that the sperm can get through. During labor and then delivery, the cervix goes through dramatic changes as it opens to a full ten centimeters, or four inches, to give your baby an opening to the outside world.
Your Vagina
A muscular passage only about four or five inches in length, your vagina is connected to the cervix on the inside and leads to the outside of your body. Most of the time. your vaginal walls stay close together; but during sex, as well as in childbirth, this organ exhibits amazing capabilities.
Your Ovaries
Sitting right within reach of your fallopian tubes are the two little, yellowish walnut-shaped glands known as ovaries. Their color inside your body is unlike nearby structures, which are covered in a greyish protective film. These yellow glands are able to release the eggs they produce monthly as well as the hormones you need to menstruate and to get pregnant. The hypothalamus is an area of your brain that secretes releasing factors. The hypothalamus first secretes follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which ripens an egg and produces estrogen. When the estrogen gets to a particular level in your body, not only does it turn down the FSH but it causes the release of luteinizing hormone (Lrl). When the LH comes out, on about the twelfth day, you ovulate. Then, in the ovary, a body forms called the corpus luteurn, which maintains the progesterone. If there is no pregnancy, then the corpus luteum fades. Then, you get your period. This is the basic cycle that can happen. All of these messages start from the very beginning of your cycle and not just at the time you are ovulating. Each month, several eggs ‘will begin to ripen and move, but usually only one rises all the way to the surface of an ovary. If you could get a closer look inside, you would be able to see 3 ‘ot or uneven pits and bumps on the ovaries, which indicatewhere other follicles degenerated. In a healthy woman, along with stains, from all the monthly most women, ovulation takes place approximately two to three the elevation of LH levels.