The natural ability of women to attain pregnancy and to conceive depends on the availability and perfect balance of several hormones in the body. The secretion of hormones in the mammalian body is a function that is orchestrated from the feedback communication mechanism. The secretion of hormones is monitored by the human brain. Various hormonal secretions facilitate the growth and development of different parts in the womb and hence providing an enabling condition to support pregnancy. According to Huether & McCance (2017) the menstrual cycle begins at diverse stages of women in United states, with the lowest being 12.14, 12.25, and 12.6 in black females, Latina and whites and controlled by hormones that are monitored by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands as presented. Moreover, the endometrium cycle is an important point of study in understanding the functions of the two glands in pregnancy.
The role of hypothalamus and pituitary glands in the menstrual cycle
The hypothalamus gland is found in the human brain and it acts as the central controlling unit for the secretion of various hormones in the human body. Pituitary glands are divided into anterior and posterior lobes. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands work through a system of checks and balances through the use of both negative and positive feedback during the menstruation cycle. Pituitary glands receive signals from the hypothalamus to release or inhibit the discharge by Follicle Stimulating Hormone or the Luteinizing Hormones. The Hypothalamus secretes Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone (GnRH) that sends a signal to the anterior pituitary glands (Jacobson, Howards, Darrow, Meadows, Kesner, Spencer & Marcus, 2018). The pituitary gland then produces Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) or the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) to the ovaries. The ovaries then reciprocate by secreting both progesterone and Estrogen hormones which as responsible for the development of the womb.
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Description of the endometrial cycle
The endometrial cycle is majorly dominated by the development of endometrial walls found in uterus in preparation for pregnancy. The endometrial cycle occurs in menstrual, follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases. When the endothelium wall is shedding off, the pituitary glands secrete the FSH and LH depending on the signals received from hypothalamus (Huether & McCance 2017). The follicular phase is initiated by the presence of the FSH. FSH causes the follicles and the endometrium walls to develop structurally in preparation for pregnancy. The ovulation stage then follows the Follicular stage. During ovulation, the hormone estrogen is highly secreted to enable synthesis and releasing of the female gametes in the ovaries (Jacobson et al, 2018). The Luteal phase comes after ovulation. During the stage, the shattered follicle closes after the female gametes are released and form the corpus luteum that secretes high levels of progesterone. Increased levels of progesterone send positive feedback to the hypothalamus to start the cycle again.
The two glands complement each other during the menstrual cycle in regulating the levels of FSH and LH. The endometrial cycle is majorly characterized by the development of the endometrial wall of the uterus in preparation for pregnancy. Hormones control the activities during the menstrual and the endometrial cycles.
References
Huether, S., & McCance K. (2017). Understanding Pathophysiology Elsevier (6th ed.). St. Louis, MI: Elsevier.
Jacobson, M. H., Howards, P. P., Darrow, L. A., Meadows, J. W., Kesner, J. S., Spencer, J. B., ... & Marcus, M. (2018). Thyroid hormones and menstrual cycle function in a longitudinal cohort of premenopausal women. Pediatric and perinatal epidemiology, 32(3), 225-234.
