Female Reproductive System

The female reproductive system produces gametes and reproductive hormones. In addition, the female reproductive system supports the developing fetus and delivers it to the outside world. The female reproductive system is located primarily inside the pelvic cavity. The female gonads are called ovaries and the gamete they produce is called an oocyte.

External Female Genitals

The external female reproductive structures are referred to collectively as the vulva and they include:

  • The mons pubis is a pad of fat that is located anterior to the pubic bone. After puberty, it becomes covered in pubic hair.

  • The labia majora (labia = “lips”; majora = “larger”) are folds of hair-covered skin that begin just posterior to the mons pubis.

  • The labia minora (labia = “lips”; minora = “smaller”) are thinner and more pigmented and extend medially to the labia majora.

    • Protects the female urethra and the entrance to the female reproductive tract

    • The anterior portions of the labia minora come together to encircle the clitoris (or glans clitoris), a mass of tissue that has abundant nerves that make it important in sexual sensation and orgasm.

  • The hymen is a thin membrane that sometimes partially covers the entrance to the vagina

  • Bartholin glands flank the vagina and function to secrete lubricant to the vulva and vagina

Internal Female Reproductive Organs

Ovaries

The ovaries are the female gonads. There are two, one at each entrance to the fallopian tube. They are each about 2 to 3 cm in length, about the size of an almond. The ovaries are located within the pelvic cavity. 

Ovaries function to:

  • Produce and release eggs

  • Secrete female hormones that are associated with puberty, menstruation, and pregnancy

Fallopian Tubes


Each of the two fallopian tubes is close to, but not directly connected to, the ovary. They extend from the uterus to the ovary where they flare out with fingerlike projections called fimbriae. 

After ovulation, they carry an oocyte into the uterus. 

The Uterus and Cervix

The uterus is the hollow, muscular organ that nourishes and supports the growing embryo. Its average size is approximately 5 cm wide by 7 cm long  and it has three sections:

  • Fundus - superior, curved region

  • Body - middle region

  • Cervix - narrow inferior region of the uterus that contains an opening into the vagina

The wall of the uterus is made up of three layers:

  • Perimetrium - the outer layer composed of a serous membrane

  • Myometrium - the thick middle layer composed of smooth muscle that is responsible for uterine contractions

  • Endometrium - the innermost layer; provides the site of implantation for a fertilized egg, and sheds during menstruation if fertilization does not occur

Vagina

The vagina is a muscular canal (approximately 10 cm long) located between the rectum and urethra. The vagina is the entrance to the reproductive tract and also serves as the exit from the uterus during menses and childbirth. The outer walls of the anterior and posterior vagina are columns with ridges. It extends from the cervix to the outside of the body.