How does Ovulation Happen?

To understand your body, you need to study it thoroughly. To understand how a woman’s reproductive system works, it is advisable to know its structure. It's not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

The female body is endowed with two ovaries, located in the lower abdomen on either side of the uterus. The ovaries produce eggs. In addition, being internal secretion organs, the ovaries produce hormones, the most famous of which are estrogen and progesterone.

Important! The ovaries accumulate eggs even at the stage of intrauterine development of a girl. There are hundreds of thousands of eggs in a newborn's two ovaries. True, all of them are inactive until the onset of puberty, that is, until about 12 years of age. During this time, a certain number of cells die, but 300,000 - 400,000 full-fledged eggs remain. From the moment of puberty until the onset of menopause, a woman will experience from 300 to 400 menstrual cycles, as a result of which the same number of oocytes will mature and can become fertilized. According to French family statistics, women on average give birth to 2 children. This means that only 2 (or 3) out of hundreds of thousands of oocytes complete their mission! To better understand the process of ovulation, let's turn to our imagination. Each ovary is like a prune. During the menstrual cycle, one of many eggs matures in it. She dozed motionless and waited for a signal for 15, 30 or 40 years. Under the influence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) of the pituitary gland, an endocrine gland on the lower surface of the brain, the follicle (sac) with the egg selected for ovulation in a given cycle begins to grow. The diameter of the follicle at the beginning of the cycle does not exceed 1 mm, and after 2 weeks it reaches 20 mm. As the follicle grows, a bulge forms on the surface of the ovary, which by the middle of the cycle increases to the size of a grape. Inside the grape (follicle) there is liquid and a small seed with a diameter of 0.1 mm. Midway through your cycle, approximately 12 days after your period begins, the pituitary gland releases large amounts of luteinizing hormone (LH). 36 hours after this, ovulation occurs. The hitherto dormant nucleus of the egg wakes up and prepares its chromosomes for possible fertilization.

Chromosomes located in the nucleus are carriers of the genetic code. The purpose of fertilization is the fusion of two sex cells (gametes) originating from individuals of different sexes. All cells of the human body contain 46 chromosomes. Therefore, two gametes must form a new cell, which also contains 46 chromosomes. A simple addition would result in 92 chromosomes, but this would lead to a biological error, the consequence of which would be the termination of the race. Consequently, each partner must halve its number of chromosomes (to 23). In the egg, the reduction in the number of chromosomes occurs after the pituitary gland releases luteinizing hormone. For such a transformation, 20 - 36 hours are enough for her. Preparing itself to receive a sperm, the egg pushes half of its chromosomes to the periphery, into a small sac called the first polar body. The meeting with the sperm must occur at a strictly defined time. If this happens earlier, the egg will not be ready to receive the sperm, since it will not have time to divide its chromosomes; if - later, then she risks missing the period of maximum readiness for fertilization.

The next 14 days after ovulation, the second part of the cycle, are spent preparing the uterine mucosa, which forms a soft bed for the embryo. All preparation is in vain if conception does not occur, and its biological consequences will pass along with menstrual bleeding. But in one of the ovaries hope is already ripening again - a new grape berry is growing...

What happens if the expectation is justified? The egg released from the follicle, having reduced the chromosomes, enters the fallopian tubes, which are connected to the ovary with their soft fimbriae. The fringes resemble an opened c