strual cycles. The ovaries contain a finite number
of ova, present at birth. From the onset of MEN-
STRUATIONto midlife, each monthly cycle causes a
half dozen to a dozen ovarian follicles to ripen.
Usually only one ovum (egg) reaches full maturity
and leaves the ovary; the others atrophy (shrink)
and the ovary reabsorbs them. By midlife the
ovaries have made it pretty much through their
supply of ova, far fewer follicles activate with each
MENSTRUAL CYCLE, and ovarian function begins to
shut down. Over a period of five to eight years,
menstrual cycles become irregular and eventually
infrequent until they stop altogether.
Health and Disorders of the Reproductive System
The health of the reproductive system, male or
female, experiences internal and external influ-
ences. Internally the reproductive system relies
significantly on an intricate hormonal balance as
hormones direct nearly all sexual and reproduc-
tive functions. Disorders are often endocrine in
origin. The organs of reproduction are particularly
vulnerable to cancers that thrive on hormones,
such as BREAST CANCER, OVARIAN CANCER, ENDOME-
TRIAL CANCER, PROSTATE CANCER, andTESTICULAR CAN-
CER. Externally the reproductive system is
vulnerable to injury and illness, to great extent
through sexual activity. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DIS-
EASES(STDS) can cause serious and sometimes life-
threatening health conditions. STDs are a leading
cause of INFERTILITYin women and can cause illness
in newborns who are exposed during birth. Other
factors that can affect reproductive health include
exposures to chemicals such as pesticides or to
radiation, which can damage the DNAof sperm or
ova.
External factors are particularly important dur-
ing pregnancy, when certain exposures at vulner-
able points of fetal development can cause
permanent injury. INFECTIONwith common viruses
such as RUBELLA(German MEASLES) or measles can
cause devastating BIRTH DEFECTS, as can taking cer-
tain drugs and medications. Nearly any substance
the woman takes into her body may cross the PLA-
CENTAto enter the fetus’s BLOODcirculation. FETAL
ALCOHOL SYNDROME, a constellation of physical birth
defects and developmental abnormalities that
occurs as a result of fetal exposure to ALCOHOL, is
entirely preventable.
HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
ADENOMYOSIS AMENORRHEA
BALANITIS BARTHOLIN CYST
BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA BREAST CANCER
(BPH) CANCER OF THE PENIS
CERVICAL CANCER CERVICAL INTRAEPITHELIAL
CHORDEE NEOPLASIA(CIN)
CRYPTORCHIDISM DYSMENORRHEA
ECLAMPSIA ECTOPIC PREGNANCY
ENDOMETRIAL CANCER ENDOMETRIAL HYPERPLASIA
ENDOMETRIOSIS EPIDIDYMITIS
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION fibroadenoma
FIBROCYSTIC BREAST DISEASE GYNECOMASTIA
HEMATOSPERMIA HYDROCELE
HYPOGONADISM INFERTILITY
INTRADUCTAL PAPILLOMA KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME
MASTALGIA MASTITIS
NABOTHIAN CYST NEONATAL JAUNDICE
ORCHITIS OVARIAN CANCER
OVARIAN CYST PAGET’S DISEASE OF THE BREAST
PARAPHIMOSIS PEYRONIE’S DISEASE
PHIMOSIS POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME
PREECLAMPSIA (PCOS)
PREMATURE OVARIAN FAILURE PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME
PRIAPISM (PMS)
PROSTATE CANCER PROSTATITIS
SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
SPERMATOCELE (STDS)
TESTICULAR CANCER TESTICULAR TORSION
TURNER’S SYNDROME UTERINE FIBROIDS
UTERINE PROLAPSE VAGINITIS
VARICOCELE VULVODYNIATraditions in Medical History
The high rate of maternal deaths from “childbirth
FEVER” (puerperal fever) at the dawn of the era of
antisepsis motivated Hungarian obstetrician Ignaz
Philipp Semmelweis (1818–1861) to change his
habits. In so doing, he transformed the practice of
obstetrics and saved countless lives. By the middle
of the 19th century scientists knew of the exis-
tence of microbes and their role in causing disease,
though their mechanisms of infection remained a
mystery. An emerging recognition was of the dan-
ger of infection for pathologists who performed
autopsies. The slight wound from a slip of the
scalpel was all too often fatal, causing systemic
infection known as pathologist’s pyemia. Semmel-
weis was the first to connect the two apparentlyThe Reproductive System 237