What Is the Female Reproductive System?
Most species have two sexes: male and female. Each sex has its own unique reproductive system. They are different in shape and structure, but both are specifically designed to produce, nourish, and transport either the egg or sperm.

Unlike the male, the human female has a reproductive system located entirely in the pelvis (that's the lowest part of the abdomen). The external part of the female reproductive organs is called the vulva, which means covering. Located between the legs, the vulva covers the opening to the vagina (pronounced: vuh-jigh-nuh) and other reproductive organs located inside the body.

The fleshy area located just above the top of the vaginal opening is called the mons pubis (pronounced: manz pyoo-bis). Two pairs of skin flaps called the labia (which means lips and is pronounced: lay-bee-uh) surround the vaginal opening. The clitoris (pronounced: klih-tuh-rus), a small sensory organ, is located toward the front of the vulva where the folds of the labia join. Between the labia are openings to the urethra (the canal that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body, which is pronounced: yoo-ree-thruh) and vagina. Once girls become sexually mature, the outer labia and the mons pubis are covered by pubic hair.

A female's internal reproductive organs are the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.

The vagina is a muscular, hollow tube that extends from the vaginal opening to the uterus. The vagina is about 3 to 5 inches (8 to 12 centimeters) long in a grown woman. Because it has muscular walls it can expand and contract. This ability to become wider or narrower allows the vagina to accommodate something as slim as a tampon and as wide as a baby. The vagina's muscular walls are lined with mucous membranes, which keep it protected and moist. The vagina serves two purposes: It's where the penis is inserted during sexual intercourse, and it's also the pathway that a baby takes out of a woman's body during childbirth, called the birth canal.

A thin sheet of tissue with one or more holes in it called the hymen (pronounced: hi-mun) partially covers the opening of the vagina. Hymens are often different from person to person. Most women find their hymens have stretched or torn after their first sexual experience, and the hymen may bleed a little (this usually causes little, if any, pain). Some women who have had sex don't have much of a change in their hymens, though.

The vagina connects with the uterus (pronounced: yoo-tuh-rus), or womb, at the cervix (which means neck and is pronounced: sir-viks). The cervix has strong, thick walls. The opening of the cervix is very small (no wider than a straw), which is why a tampon can never get lost inside a girl's body. During childbirth, the cervix can expand to allow a baby to pass.

The uterus is shaped like an upside-down pear, with a thick lining and muscular walls - in fact, the uterus contains some of the strongest muscles in the female body. These muscles are able to expand and contract to accommodate a growing fetus and then help push the baby out during labor. When a woman isn't pregnant, the uterus is only about 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) long and 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide.

At the upper corners of the uterus, the fallopian (pronounced: fuh-lo-pee-un) tubes connect the uterus to the ovaries (pronounced: o-vuh-reez). The ovaries are two oval-shaped organs that lie to the upper right and left of the uterus. They produce, store, and release eggs into the fallopian tubes in the process called ovulation (pronounced: av-yoo-lay-shun). Each ovary measures about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4 to 5 centimeters) in a grown woman.

There are two fallopian tubes, each attached to a side of the uterus. The fallopian tubes are about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long and about as wide as a piece of spaghetti. Within each tube is a tiny passageway no wider than a sewing needle. At the other end of each fallopian tube is a fringed area that looks like a funnel. This fringed area wraps around the ovary but doesn't completely attach to it. When an egg pops out of an ovary, it enters the fallopian tube. Once the egg is in the fallopian tube, tiny hairs in the tube's lining help push it down the narrow passageway toward the uterus.

The ovaries are also part of the endocrine system because they produce female sex hormones such as estrogen (pronounced: es-truh-jun) and progesterone (pronounced: pro-jes-tuh-rone).