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Terms
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- infertility
- absence of production of children. commonly used to mean a biological inability to bear children.
- infecundity
- biological inability to bear children after 1 year of unprotected sex.
- fertility
- actual production of children. The word best applies to vital statistic rates, but it is commonly taken to mean the ability to bear children.
- fecundity
- biological ability to bear children
- miscarriage
- generally defined as the loss of a conceptus in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Also called spontaneous abortion.
- endocrine
- A system of ductless glands such as the thyroid, adrenal glands, ovaries, and testes, that produces secretions that affect body functions.
- immunological
- having to do with the immune system and its function in protecting the body from bacterial, viral, fungal, or other infections and from foreign proteins (i.e. those proteins that differ from proteins normally found in the body).
- subfertility
- reduced level of fertility characterized by unusually long time to conception (over 12 months) or repeated early pregnancy losses.
- puberty
- the period in the life during which humans become biologically capable of reproduction.
- ova
- eggs of the female produced and stored within the overies (singular=ovum)
- menopause
- cessation of the menstrual cycle and reproductive capacity in females.
- menstrual cycle
- an approximately 4-week interval in which hormones direct a buildup of blood and nutrient stores within the wall of the uterus and ovum maturation and release. If the ovum is fertilized by sperm, the stored blood and nutrients are used to support the growth of the fertilized ovum. If fertilization does not occur; they are released from the unterine wall over a period of 3 to 7 days. The period of blood flow is called the menses, or the menstrual period.
- Pituitary Gland
- a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain. It is connected to the hypothalamus and produces and secretes growth hormone, prolactin, oxytocin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and other hormones in response to signals from the hypothalamus
- corpus luteum
- a tissue about 12 mm in diameter formed from the follicle that contained the ovum prior to its release. It produces estrogen and progesterone. The "yellow body" deviation comes from teh accumulation of lipid precursors or these hormones in the corpus luteum.
- prostaglandins
- a group of physiologically acitve substances derived from the essential fatty acids. They are present in many tissues and perform such functions as the constriction or dilation of blood vessels and stimulation of smooth muscles and uterus
- testes
- male reproductive glands located in the scrotum. also called testicles
- androgens
- types of steroid hormones produced in the testes, ovaries, and adrenal cortex from cholesterol. Some androgens (testosterone, dihydrotestosterone) stimulate development and functioning or male sex organs.
- epididymis
- tissues on top of the testes that store sperm
- semen
- the penile ejaculate containing a mixture of sperm and secretions