Thefastpharma. Health news blog
Mar 20
Ovaries The two ovaries are where a woman’s eggs are stored and where they mature. They are located in the lower part of the abdomen. If you want to get a sense of where your ovaries are located, put your finger on your navel and move it in a direct line to the top of [...] [...more]
Posted: under Women's Health.
Tags: Women’s Health
Ovaries
The two ovaries are where a woman’s eggs are stored and where they mature. They are located in the lower part of the abdomen. If you want to get a sense of where your ovaries are located, put your finger on your navel and move it in a direct line to the top of your leg. When you have moved your finger one-half of the way there, your finger is over your ovary. There is one ovary on each side—one on the left and one on the right. Each ovary is about the size of an almond.
A baby girl has 1 million immature eggs in her ovaries when she is born.
Fallopian Tubes
A fallopian tube opens into each side of the uterus to allow an egg to pass from the ovary to the uterus. One end of each tube opens into the uterus; the other end opens very close to an ovary. When an egg is released, it can easily enter the open end of a fallopian tube. Each tube has fine hair like fringes (cilia) that sweep a mature egg from the ovary into the tube. The contractions of the fallopian tube and the movements of the cilia move the egg toward the uterus.
Usually, the fallopian tubes are where the sperm and egg join. Sperm that are deposited in the vagina can swim through the cervix, through the uterus, and into the fallopian tube. If the egg meets sperm and joins with a sperm, this is called fertilization.
The egg is the largest human cell. It is about the size of the dot of this “i.” The eggs are stored in areas of the ovary called follicles. Each follicle holds one immature egg. A number of follicles grows each month. Only one or, rarely, two, will reach maturity and release an egg each month. This happens during the years a woman can get pregnant. This process is called ovulation, and it begins at puberty.
Ovaries also make hormones that are needed for ovulation and a girl’s growth during puberty. The hormones made in the ovaries are estrogen and progesterone. These and other hormones influence the process of ovulation, the passage of the egg to the uterus, and the eventual elimination of the lining through menstruation every month. This pattern is called the menstrual cycle. It does not occur during pregnancy but will continue throughout a woman’s reproductive years.
Some women can feel their ovaries become tender during ovulation. The medical name for this is Mittelschmerz. All women are aware of the elimination of the unfertilized egg and the lining of the uterus. This monthly event is called menstruation.
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Mar 20
Urethra Urine from the bladder passes through the urethra and leaves the body through the urethral opening. The urethra of girls and women is much shorter than the urethra of boys and men because it does not extend outside the body, as it does in the penis. Skene’s Glands The Skene’s glands are inside the [...] [...more]
Posted: under Women's Health.
Tags: Women’s Health
Urethra
Urine from the bladder passes through the urethra and leaves the body through the urethral opening. The urethra of girls and women is much shorter than the urethra of boys and men because it does not extend outside the body, as it does in the penis.
Skene’s Glands
The Skene’s glands are inside the body—one on each side of the urethra. They open into the urethra. Stimulation of the G-Spot and expulsion of fluid from the Skene’s glands may constitute female ejaculation.
Uterus
The uterus is the pear-shaped reproductive organ commonly called the womb. It is formed of powerful, muscular walls and is about the size of the woman’s fist.
The cervix is the lower, narrower portion, or neck, of the uterus. Nearly one-half of the cervix is inside the vagina. An opening in the cervix, called the os, is like a canal that connects the inside of the uterus to the vagina. At its narrowest point, the opening of the cervix is about as wide as the lead in a pencil.
Menstrual flow passes out of the uterus through the cervix. The cervix can also stretch to allow a fetus to pass through it. During intercourse, the penis does not enter the cervix. It may tap against the cervix, which may provide sexual pleasure to some women. Others may find this uncomfortable.
The inside of the uterus is a triangle-shaped area. It is lined with thick, plush walls of tissue and blood. The lining is called the endometrium. It is like a nest for the fertilized egg if pregnancy happens.
The endometrium stays particularly plush for part of each month. If one of the woman’s eggs is fertilized during this time, it may move to the uterus and attach itself to the endometrium. If it does, pregnancy will begin as the endometrium begins to nourish the fertilized egg, or pre-embryo. If fertilization does not take place or the pre-embryo does not attach, the endometrium will break down and pass out of the vagina. This is called menstruation.
If pregnancy develops and continues, the pre-embryo will develop into a fetus. When it is time for the fetus to move out of the woman’s body, the muscles of the uterus contract in a process called labor to deliver the fetus from the uterus, through the stretched, or “dilated,” cervical os, down the vagina, through the vaginal opening, and out of the body.
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Mar 20
Virginity and the hymen The hymen is very important to some people as a sign of virginity. They believe that a woman whose hymen is stretched open has let a boy or his penis in her vagina. But that isn’t always true, because some women are born without a hymen. Others stretch and break theirs [...] [...more]
Posted: under Women's Health.
Tags: Women’s Health
Virginity and the hymen
The hymen is very important to some people as a sign of virginity. They believe that a woman whose hymen is stretched open has let a boy or his penis in her vagina. But that isn’t always true, because some women are born without a hymen. Others stretch and break theirs open during normal physical activities. Some bleeding may result when a hymen is torn. Something as simple as playing sports, horseback riding a bicycle can break the hymen. A bride’s virginity is highly prized in cultures that demand that women’s only sex partners be their husbands. Bleeding during intercourse is believed to be a sign of virginity. In these cultures, bed sheets
are examined for signs of blood after a wedding night. If blood is found, the female is considered to have been a virgin. However, a woman may be a virgin and still not bleed during her first intercourse.
The G-spot and female ejaculation
The G-Spot is thought to contribute to female orgasm and female ejaculation. It was once believed that only urine passed through the female urethra. However, researchers have recently studied female ejaculation. In some women, a clear fluid spurts out of the urethra during intense sexual excitement and during orgasm. In some women, this fluid is urine and not a true ejaculation. In other women, the fluid is similar to the fluid produced by the prostate in men. It is estimated that about 10 percent of women experience this kind of ejaculation.
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Mar 20
These include the following: • vagina • cervix • uterus • fallopian tubes • ovaries All these organs are supported by a bone and muscle structure called the pelvic girdle. Both men and women have a pelvic girdle. It is more developed and wider in women because it has to support a fetus during pregnancy. [...] [...more]
Posted: under Women's Health.
Tags: Women’s Health
These include the following:
• vagina
• cervix
• uterus
• fallopian tubes
• ovaries
All these organs are supported by a bone and muscle structure called the pelvic girdle. Both men and women have a pelvic girdle. It is more developed and wider in women because it has to support a fetus during pregnancy. This is why girls’ and women’s hips are often wider than the hips of boys or men.
Vagina
The vagina is the structure that connects a woman’s external sex organs to her internal sex and reproductive system. The opening of the vagina is in the middle of the vulva, beneath the opening of the urethra. The vagina is a flexible passage that is four to five inches long. In its relaxed state, the soft, moist walls of this tunnel-like structure touch against each other like the walls of a collapsed balloon. Like a balloon, the vagina has the ability to enlarge a great deal.
The flexible vagina can accommodate the penis during intercourse and the fetus during childbirth—the vagina is also the birth canal. During birth, the fetus passes from the cervix of the uterus through the vaginal canal to the outside of the woman’s body. During menstruation, blood and tissue flow along the same path.
Hymen
A thin membrane of skin may stretch across part of the vaginal opening. It is called the hymen. An opening in the hymen allows menstrual flow to pass out of the body. Most girls are born with a hymen. Some are born without it. The condition of the hymen is not a good indicator of sexual virginity for one or more of three reasons:
• A girl may have been born without a hymen.
• The hymen can easily be ruptured during normal physical activity and sports.
• The hymen can be stretched open by the use of tampons.
G-Spot
There is a small area called the Grafenberg Spot, or G-Spot, inside the vaginas of some women. It is located about an inch or two inside the vaginal opening in the vaginal wall that is closest to the navel. The G-Spot is sexually sensitive and swells slightly during sex play.
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Mar 20
Opening of the Urethra In girls and women, the urethral opening is located below the clitoris and above the vaginal opening. The urethral opening is not easy to see because it is in the vulva area. Because it is somewhat hidden, some young girls mistakenly believe urine comes out of their vaginal openings. Young people [...] [...more]
Posted: under Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction.
Opening of the Urethra
In girls and women, the urethral opening is located below the clitoris and above the vaginal opening. The urethral opening is not easy to see because it is in the vulva area. Because it is somewhat hidden, some young girls mistakenly believe urine comes out of their vaginal openings.
Young people may become confused about the functions of the urethra. The urethra in girls and women is not a part of the reproductive system. Its sole function is to provide a passageway for urine to flow from the bladder to the outside of the body.
Vaginal Opening
Directly under the urethral opening is the vaginal opening. The tissue surrounding it is called the introitus. The vaginal opening h three important functions:
• It is the opening that allows menstrual flow to pass from the body.
• It is where the penis is inserted during vaginal intercourse.
• It is the opening through which a fetus passes out of the body during birth.
Bartholin’s Glands
The two internal glands on each side of the vaginal opening in the labia minora are called Bartholin’s glands. They secrete fluids that a as lubrication when a woman is sexually excited.
Breasts
Women’s breasts are important physical and psychological sources of pleasure. In most cultures, they are a major element of female attractiveness. Stimulation of the breasts during sex play can give women sexual pleasure. A woman’s breasts can also support and nurture human life by producing milk for a baby after a woman has given birth. Many mothers also experience erotic pleasure during breast-feeding.
On the exterior of the breast is the nipple. The nipple has openings from which milk flows from the breasts. The area around the nipple is the areola. The nipple and areola are made of tissue and muscles that contract when it is cold or when sexually aroused—this happens in both males and females.
Milk is produced in special cells in the alveoli sacs inside of the breasts. These sacs are grouped together in areas called lobes. These cells, sacs, and lobes begin to produce milk only when a woman is pregnant. At that time, the body produces a hormone that stimulates milk production. When the fetus passes out of the womb and the woman is no longer pregnant, the milk passes into milk ducts. These are tube like structures that connect to the nipple. When the baby sucks on the woman’s nipple, milk is drawn from the ducts to the nipple.
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