Page 37 - كتاب تمريض نسا الاكتروني

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1. The hormones controlling the female reproductive system include gonadotropin-
releasing hormone (GnRH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone
(LH), all of which are produced in the brain; estrogen and progesterone produced by the
ovaries and the corpus luteum; and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), produced by

the placenta during pregnancy.

2. The menstrual cycle typically lasts 28 days, but it can be highly variable. It is
characterized by menstruation from days 1 to 5 and ovulation at around day 14, but the

date of ovulation is difficult to predict accurately.

3. Menstruation is the monthly shedding from the uterus of the endometrium with some
blood, which emerges through the vagina, typically for a period of three to five days.

Menstruation continues from menarche to the menopause, except during pregnancy. It
may also be suppressed by breastfeeding.

4. The ovarian cycle refers to the regular, repeating events occurring in the ovaries during
the menstrual cycle, characterized by the development of a few ovarian follicles; the

maturation and release of a single ovum (ovulation); and the formation and subsequent
degeneration of the corpus luteum if pregnancy does not occur.

5. The uterine cycle refers to the regular, repeating events occurring in the uterus during

the menstrual cycle, characterized by the thickening of the endometrium and an increase
in its blood supply, followed by its degeneration and shedding as the menstrual flow if
pregnancy does not occur.

6. The menarche and the development of secondary sexual characteristics signal the
period known as puberty, when the internal reproductive organs grow to adult size and a

girl becomes fertile and capable of becoming pregnant.

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