Reproduction

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Without the female reproductive system, there would be no continuation of our species. The female is dependent on the male for fertilization of her egg, but it is she who carries the developing baby through pregnancy and childbirth. If people didn't reproduce, families would die out and humans would cease to exist.   Humans, like other organisms, pass on certain characteristics of themselves to the next generation through their genes, the special carriers of human traits. The genes that parents pass on to their children are what make children similar to others in their family, but they are also what make each child unique. These genes come from the father's sperm and the mother's egg, which are produced by their respective reproductive systems. Girls and boys have different sex organs. Only girls and women have vulvas and only boys and men have penises.

Female Reproductive Organs

Unlike the male, the female reproductive system is almost entirely hidden within the pelvis. It consists of organs that enable a woman to produce eggs (ova), to have sexual intercourse, to nourish and protect the fertilized egg (ovum) until it is fully developed, and to give birth.

Females have external sex organs, positioned between the legs, collectively called the vulva. The outer parts of the vulva cover the entrance to a narrow canal called the vagina. The fleshy area found above the top of the opening of the vagina is called the mons pubis. A delicate piece of tissue, called the hymen, partially covers the opening of the vagina. The labia made up of two pairs of skin flaps, surround the vaginal opening. The clitoris, which is located toward the front of the vulva where the folds of the labia join, is a small cylindrical structure similar to the male penis; it also contains erectile tissue. Inside the labia are openings to the urethra, (which is the canal that carries urine from the bladder out of the body), and vagina. The outer labia and the mons pubis are covered by pubic hair in the sexually mature female.

The internal sex organs include the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. The vagina is between 7 and 15 centimetres in length, and is a closed, tubular structure that extends from the opening of the vagina to the uterus. The vagina has muscular walls lined with mucous membranes, which serves as the female organ of copulation (sexual intercourse) as well as the birth canal.

The vagina connects with the uterus, which is shaped like an inverted pear. This muscular, expandable organ with thick walls is also called the womb, which holds the developing foetus during pregnancy. At the lower part of the uterus is the cervix, which opens into the vagina. At the upper part, the fallopian tubes connect the uterus to the ovaries. The ovaries are two oval-shaped organs that lie either side of the uterus. They produce, store, and release eggs through the fallopian tubes into the uterus. The ovaries also produce the hormones oestrogen and progesterone. The breasts are also part of the reproductive system. Mammary glands inside the breasts secrete milk after childbirth.