Estrogen and progesterone
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Estrogen and progesterone
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Adrenal cortex p. 331
progesterone production p. 648
Childbirth
progesterone levels after p. 648
Corpus luteum p. 650
progesterone production p. 648
Endometrial hyperplasia p. 658
progesterone and p. 648
Estrogen p. 648, 674
progesterone and p. 648
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
progesterone and p. 648
Lactation p. 648
progesterone and p. 648
Luteinizing hormone (LH)
estrogen/progesterone p. 648
Ovulation p. 649
progesterone and p. 648
Placenta p. 635
progesterone production p. 648
Progesterone p. 648
ganulosa cell tumors p. 665
lactation and p. 648
menstrual cycle p. 650
ovulation p. 649
pregnancy p. 651
signaling pathways for p. 351
Testes p. 642
progesterone production p. 648
Transcript
Content Reviewers
Estrogen and progesterone are the female sex hormones, and they’re produced mainly by the ovaries - the female gonads.
The female body can synthesize 3 types of estrogens: estradiol, estrone and estriol.
Of the three, the ovaries synthesize estradiol, which is the most biologically active of them all, and accounts for the majority of sex-specific changes that begin in puberty - like monthly ovulation and menstruation as well as the development of the secondary sex characteristics.
Small amounts of estrogen are also produced by the adrenal cortex and fat cells in adipose tissue, and the placenta secretes these hormones during pregnancy, as well.
But during the reproductive period, it’s the ovaries that produce the majority of estrogen and progesterone in the female body.
Before puberty, the hypothalamus secretes small amounts of a hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH.
That GnRH travels to the nearby pituitary, which secretes two hormones of its own - follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, and luteinizing hormone, or LH.
Once puberty hits, the hypothalamus starts to secrete GnRH in pulses, sometimes more and sometimes less, and FSH and LH make the ovarian follicles develop and secrete hormones.
The ovarian follicles are scattered throughout the ovaries, and each ovarian follicle is made up of a ring of follicular cells surrounding a primary oocyte at its core.
As the ovarian follicles develop, the follicular cells differentiate into theca cells and granulosa cells, which both play a role in the synthesis of progesterone and estrogen.
How much of these hormones is secreted is directly related to the phases of the female menstrual cycle.
The menstrual cycle lasts 28 days on average, and it’s centered around a surge of FSH and LH happening on day 14 - which makes ovulation possible.
Summary
Estrogen and progesterone are the Main sex female hormones produced by the ovaries during the reproductive period, and the placenta during pregnancy. Estrogen helps regulating female growth and development of the reproductive system, development of the endometrium, prevention of osteoporosis, and cardiovascular risk diseases in females.
Sources
- "Medical Physiology" Elsevier (2016)
- "Physiology" Elsevier (2017)
- "Human Anatomy & Physiology" Pearson (2018)
- "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology" Wiley (2014)
- "Biochemistry of aromatase: significance to female reproductive physiology" Cancer Res (1982)
- "Androgen production in women" Fertil Steril (2002)
- "Progesterone and Testosterone Hydroxylation by Cytochromes P450 2C19, 2C9, and 3A4 in Human Liver Microsomes" Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (1997)