1. REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES

3. • They ask you about menstruation.
• Say: that is a state of impurity/pollution (it is a
harmful thing for a husband to have sexual
intercourse with his wife while she is having her
menses), therefore keep away from women
(your wives) during menses and do not go unto
them till they are clean (from menses).

4. • When they have purified themselves (have
taken a bath) then may go to them as ALLAH
has ordained for you (go unto in any manner
as long as it is in their vagina).
• Truly, ALLAH loves those who turn unto HIM
constantly in repentance and loves those
who keep themselves pure and clean.
• Surah 2. Al-Baqarah. Ayat 222. Para 2.

5. • Commencing at puberty and normally
continuing throughout the reproductive
years, human females undergo monthly
reproductive (sexual) cycles involving
activities of the hypothalamus, pituitary
gland, ovaries, uterus, uterine tubes,
vagina, and mammary glands.
• These cycles prepare the reproductive
system for pregnancy.

6. • Hypothalamus secretes a hormone-
releasing factor in the hypophyseal
portal system to act on the anterior
lobe of hypophysis (pituitary gland).
• This causes cyclic release of
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH),
and luteinizing hormone (LH) by the
pituitary gland.

7. • In circulatory system of animals, a portal
venous system occurs when a capillary
bed drains into another capillary bed
through veins, without first going through
the heart.
• Both capillary beds and the blood vessels
that connect them are considered part of
the portal venous system.

9. Ovarian Cycle
• The gonadotrophic hormones (FSH and
LH) produce cyclic changes in the ovaries
1. the development of follicles,
2. ovulation, and
3. the formation of corpus luteum.
• This is called ovarian cycle

10. • Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
induces early development of follicles,
• but
• the final stages of maturation require
Lutenizing Hormone (LH) as well

11. • Primordial follicles continuously grow into
primary follicles.
• This growth is not dependant on FSH.
• Some of the primary follicles are selected
by Allah (SWT) and they grow further
under the influence of FSH.

12. • When the tertiary and Graafian follicles
have formed, the granulosa cells and
theca cells produce estrogens.
• These estrogens are responsible for the
increased production of LH from
hypophysis cerebri.

13. • Lutenizing hormone causes the maturing
follicle to enter into preovulatory phase.
• Primary oocyte completes its meiosis I
and enters into meiosis II.
• The surge of lutenizing hormone (LH) also
causes the rupture of the fully mature
Graafian follicle and ovulation.

14. • LH simultaneously converts follicular cells
(granulosa cells and theca cells) into
granulosa lutein cells and theca lutein
cells.
• The process is called luteinization.
• These cells produce progesterone.
• In fact the remaining follicle is converted
into corpus luteum.

15. • Hormonal levels

16. Ovarian Cycle

17. Menstrual Cycle
• The cyclic changes occurring in the
endometrium constitute the uterine or
endometrial cycle, commonly referred to
as the menstrual cycle because
menstruation is an obvious event in 90
percent of healthy young women.
• The length of endometrial cycles ranges
between 23 and 35 days.
• It is under influence of ovarian hormones.

18. Ovarian hormones cause cyclic changes in the structure
of reproductive tract, notably the endometrium. Although
divided into 3 phases for descriptive purposes, it must
be stressed that menstrual cycle is a continuous
process; each phase gradually passes into the next one.

19. Menstrual Phase
• First day of menstruation is counted as the
beginning of the menstrual cycle.
• The functional layer of the endometrium is
sloughed off and discarded during
menstruation,
• It typically occurs at 28-day intervals and
lasts for three to six days.

20. Proliferative or Follicular Phase
• This phase (days 6 to 14) coincides
with the growth of ovarian follicles
and is controlled by estrogens
secreted by follicular cells.

21. • Basal layer of endometrium starts proliferating,
glands increase in number and length, and
spiral arteries elongate but do not reach the
surface during this phase.
• Early during this phase, a continuous surface
epithelium covers the endometrium.
• There is 2 to 3 fold increase in the thickness of
endometrium during this phase.

22. Secretory or Luteal Phase
• This phase (days 15 to 28) coincides
with the formation of corpus luteum.
• The progesterone secreted by the
corpus luteum stimulates the
glandular epithelium to produce a
material rich in glycogen.

23. • The glands become wide, tortuous, and
saccular.
• The endometrium thickens, partly as a
result of the increased fluid in the stroma.
• As the spiral arteries grow into the
superficial compact layer, they become
increasingly coiled.

24. Ischemic or Premenstrual Phase
• If fertilization does not occur, there is
decreasing secretion of hormones,
particularly progesterone, by the
degenerating corpus luteum.
• There are vascular changes due to
decrease in hormone. Spiral arteries
constrict intermittently.

25. • It lasts for 1 or 2 days before menstruation
starts.
• The ischemic phase may be considered to
be the last part of the secretory phase.
• The vascular changes and hormones
withdrawal results in stoppage of glandular
secretion, a loss of interstitial fluid, and a
marked shrinking of the endometrium.

26. Menstrual Phase
• Toward the end of ischemic phase, the
spiral arteries become constricted for
longer periods.
• Eventually, blood begins to seep through
the ruptured walls of the spiral arteries into
the surrounding stroma. Small pools of
blood soon form and break through the
endometrial surface, resulting in bleeding
into the uterine lumen and the beginning
of another menstrual phase/cycle.

27. • As small pieces of the endometrium
become detached and pass into the
uterine cavity, the torn ends of the arteries
bleed into the uterine cavity, resulting in
an average loss of 35 ml of blood.
• Eventually, over 3 to 6 days, the entire
compact layer and most of the spongy
layer are discarded in the menstrual flow.

28. • The remnants of the spongy layer and the
basal layer remain to undergo
regeneration during subsequent
proliferative phase of the endometrium.
• The cyclic activity of the uterus is
intimately linked with cyclic changes in the
ovary.

29. Basal body temperature (BBT)
• In women, ovulation causes an increase of
one-quarter to one-half degree Celsius
(one-half to one degree Fahrenheit) in
basal body temperature.
• Monitoring of BBT is one way of
estimating the day of ovulation.

30. • Chart of Basal Body Temperature

31. • The tendency of a woman to have lower
temperatures before ovulation, and higher
temperatures afterwards, is known as
biphasic pattern.
• Charting of this pattern may be used as a
component of fertility awareness.

32. • The higher levels of estrogen present during
the pre-ovulatory (follicular) phase of
menstrual cycle lower BBT.
• The higher levels of progesterone released
by corpus luteum after ovulation raise BBT.
• The rise in temperature can most commonly
be seen the day after ovulation, but this
varies and BBT can only be used to estimate
ovulation within a three day range.

33. • If pregnancy does not occur, the
disintegration of the corpus luteum
causes a drop in BBT that roughly
coincides with the onset of the next
menstruation.

34. • If pregnancy occurs, the corpus luteum
continues to function (and maintain high
BBT) for first trimester of pregnancy.
• After first trimester, woman's body
temperature drops to her pre-ovulatory
normal as placenta takes over functions

35. • Very rarely, the corpus luteum may
form a cyst.
• A corpus luteum cyst will cause BBT
to stay elevated and prevent
menstruation from occurring until it is
resolved, which could take weeks or
months.

36. • If pregnancy does not occur, the of menstrual
cycles normally continue until the end of a
woman’s reproductive life, usually between the
ages of 47 and 52
• If pregnancy occurs, the menstrual cycles stop
and the endometrium passes into the
pregnancy phase.
• After pregnancy and birth of baby, the ovarian
and menstrual cycles resume after a variable
period of time (usually 6 to 10 weeks if the
woman is not breast-feeding her baby).