Some of our fundamental issues are those of fertility and conception, and in them the ovulation process has a special relevance. Let's list some curious facts about ovulation, the ovules and the fertilization process.
- The woman, while still in her mother's womb and in the middle of her pregnancy, has an ovum load that is approximately seven million between both ovaries.
- When a woman is born, the egg load is already limited to only two million (the man, however, makes sperm every day of his life, from about 12 or 13 years old).
- When the woman reaches puberty she will only have 5% of her total eggs, that is, approximately 200,000 in each ovary.
- The mature ovum is a large cell (it is the most voluminous cell in the human body): measures approximately 0.14 mm and can be visible to the human eye.
- The ovule is the female gamete, a cell produced by the ovary, carrier of the genetic material and capable of being fertilized by a sperm, then forming a zygote.
- The word "ovum" comes from the Latin "ovum", "egg" plus the diminutive disincentive, "ovulum". Its etymological meaning is thus 'small egg'.
- The release of the ovum is not a sudden and explosive event, but occurs thanks to a process that lasts about 15 minutes.
- Oogenesis or oogenesis is female gametogenesis, that is, it is the development and differentiation of the ovum through a meiotic division. In the oogenesis process, ovules formed by meiosis (a form of cellular reproduction) are created.
- In the pattern of the process of maturation of ovules of humans and other mammals, it is environmental factors, such as the amount and type of daily light, that stimulate ovulation.
- The ovulation process is controlled by the hypothalamus through the release of hormones secreted in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, luteinizing hormone (HL) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
- The woman has between 400 and 450 menstruations throughout her life.
- Ovulation on average occurs around the fourteenth day of a menstrual cycle of average duration (twenty-eight days). However, it is normal for the day on which ovulation occurs to depart from the average, with ovulations being common between the tenth and ninth days of the menstrual cycle.
- The menstrual cycle represents the integration of three different cycles: the ovarian cycle, whose function is to mature and release an oocyte; the uterine cycle, whose function is to provide the appropriate environment for the blastocyst to be implanted and developed; the cervical cycle, which allows the sperm to penetrate the female genital tract at the appropriate time.
- Menopause is the transition period in a woman's life when the ovaries stop producing eggs, her body produces less estrogen and progesterone, and menstruation becomes less frequent, until finally all of this stops.
- Menopause is exclusive to women, does not occur in any other mammal.
- The technical and medical advancement allows women to freeze their fertile ovules to be mothers later.
- The ovary is the only organ in the body that allows itself the luxury of changing form and function every day of the month.
- The ovaries are the size of an almond of about three centimeters and weighing about six to seven grams.
- Anovulation It occurs when there is an anovular cycle, that is, a cycle during which the ovaries cannot release an oocyte. Therefore, ovulation does not occur.
- Oophorectomy is the surgical process that involves the removal of one or both ovaries (uni or bilateral oophorectomy). This operation can be performed through the abdomen by laparoscopic surgery or by conventional surgery. When it is of both ovaries it leaves the woman unable to produce eggs and hormones, entering this into menopause of surgical origin.
- In general, the monthly probability of pregnancy in a stable couple, who has regular sex, is only about 20%.
- In fertile couples it takes an average of five months to get a pregnancy, or make love 104 times.
- The first photographs of an ovulation were taken in 2008 by Belgian doctor Jacques Donnez, who was performing a hysterectomy when he realized that the patient's ovulation was taking place.
- In the same year, the first video of an ovulation was obtained, recorded by specialists from the Institute for Fertility & Embryology in Belgium.
- All over the world, in just one minute one million women ovulate, 500 women become pregnant and 200 fertilized eggs are lost due to natural causes.
It is fascinating to know a little more about our body and its complexity. We hope that the review of these curiosities about ovulation, the ovaries, ovules and the process by which pregnancy occurs have been entertaining.
