Book contents
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Environmental contaminants and exposure
- 3. Development and maturation of the normal female reproductive system
- 4 Development and maturation of the normal male reproductive system
- 5 Modern genetics of reproductive biology
- 6. Mechanisms of endocrine disruption
- 7. Developmental exposures and implications for early and latent disease
- 8 Wildlife as sentinels of environmental impacts on reproductive health and fertility
- 9 Environmental contaminants and effects on timing and progression of human pubertal development
- 10 Environmental contaminants and impacts on healthy and successful pregnancies
- 11 Environmental contaminants and reproductive and fertility effects in the male
- 12. Environmental contaminants, female reproductive health and fertility
- 13 Environmental contaminants and related systems that have implications for reproduction
- 14 Environmental contaminants and cancers of the reproductive tract
- 15 Communicating with patients and the public about environmental exposures and reproductive risk
- 16 Interpreting science in the policy context
- 17 Conclusions – what does all this mean, and where are we going?
- Index
3. - Development and maturation of the normal female reproductive system
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2010
Book contents
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Environmental Impacts on Reproductive Health and Fertility
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Environmental contaminants and exposure
- 3. Development and maturation of the normal female reproductive system
- 4 Development and maturation of the normal male reproductive system
- 5 Modern genetics of reproductive biology
- 6. Mechanisms of endocrine disruption
- 7. Developmental exposures and implications for early and latent disease
- 8 Wildlife as sentinels of environmental impacts on reproductive health and fertility
- 9 Environmental contaminants and effects on timing and progression of human pubertal development
- 10 Environmental contaminants and impacts on healthy and successful pregnancies
- 11 Environmental contaminants and reproductive and fertility effects in the male
- 12. Environmental contaminants, female reproductive health and fertility
- 13 Environmental contaminants and related systems that have implications for reproduction
- 14 Environmental contaminants and cancers of the reproductive tract
- 15 Communicating with patients and the public about environmental exposures and reproductive risk
- 16 Interpreting science in the policy context
- 17 Conclusions – what does all this mean, and where are we going?
- Index
Summary
The ovarian hormones stimulate the development of the reproductive system, induce the development of secondary sexual characteristics, and promote a receptive endometrium for the growth and development of the proconceptus. The development of the ovary is dependent on local and endocrine factors that can be the target of endocrine disruptors. The T-shaped uterus seen in women exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) could represent a narrow and more branched structure, similar to the structure of the fallopian tube. Müllerian development is dependent on coordinated gene expression and hormone exposure. The genes that control normal patterning of the reproductive tract are beginning to be identified. The most important hormones regulating mammary gland development are estrogen and progesterone. During pregnancy and lactation, prolactin contributes to lobular differentiation and milk production. Estrogen and progesterone play a fundamental role during puberty to develop a normal adult breast.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010