Images of the female sex organ

Skip Navigation. Skip section navigation navigation may have changed. Due to the lapse in government funding, only websites supporting excepted functions will be updated unless otherwise funded. As a result, the information on this website may not be up to date and the agency will not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. Click on each of the names above to learn what each part of the system does. The female reproductive system is all the parts of your body that help you reproduce, or have babies.

These parts are internal; the vagina meets the external organs at the vulva, which includes the labia, clitoris, and urethra. The vagina is attached to the uterus through the cervix, while the uterus is attached to the ovaries via the fallopian tubes. At certain intervals, the ovaries release an ovum, which passes through the fallopian tube into the uterus. If, in this transit, it meets with sperm, the sperm penetrates and merges with the egg, fertilizing it. The fertilization usually occurs in the oviducts, but can happen in the uterus itself. The zygote then implants itself in the wall of the uterus, where it begins the process of embryogenesis and morphogenesis.

The external genital organs include the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, Bartholin glands, and clitoris. The area containing these organs is called the vulva. Protecting the internal genital organs from infectious organisms. The mons pubis is a rounded mound of fatty tissue that covers the pubic bone. During puberty , it becomes covered with hair.

The female reproductive system includes the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, vulva, mammary glands and breasts. These organs are involved in the production and transportation of gametes and the production of sex hormones. The female reproductive system also facilitates the fertilization of ova by sperm and supports the development of offspring during pregnancy and infancy. The ovaries are a pair of small glands about the size and shape of almonds, located on the left and right sides of the pelvic body cavity lateral to the superior portion of the uterus.