Video Transcript
The four key hormones involved in
regulating the menstrual cycle interact with each other, either by stimulating,
encouraging, the production of other hormones or by inhibiting, stopping, it. Complete the following sentences
using either “stimulates” or “inhibits.” (1) FSH blank the production of
estrogen. (2) Estrogen blank the release of
FSH. (3) Estrogen blank the production
of LH immediately prior to ovulation. (4) Progesterone blank the
production of FSH and LH.
There are four main hormones that
control the menstrual cycle in biological females: estrogen, progesterone, FSH,
which is short for follicle-stimulating hormone, and LH, which is short for
luteinizing hormone. Let’s review how these hormones
interact with each other to answer our question correctly.
FSH and LH are both hormones
produced and released by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, which is an
endocrine gland located in the brain. These two hormones are sometimes
referred to as gonadotropins, as they can stimulate, or encourage, the secretion of
other hormones from a biological female’s gonads, or ovaries.
Let’s take a look at this in more
detail. The pituitary gland first releases
FSH, which stimulates follicles in the ovaries, causing an immature egg cell to
grow. FSH also stimulates the ovaries to
produce estrogen. Let’s represent stimulation on this
diagram with an orange arrow. With this information, we can fill
in the blank in the first sentence. FSH stimulates the production of
estrogen.
Estrogen has a number of effects,
one of which is causing the lining of the uterus to thicken. Estrogen also inhibits, or
prevents, further secretion of FSH so that only one egg cell usually matures per
menstrual cycle. Let’s represent inhibition on this
diagram with a pink arrow. We can now fill in the blank in
sentence two. Estrogen inhibits the release of
FSH.
Furthermore, estrogen stimulates
the production of another pituitary hormone, LH, just before the egg cell is
released from the ovary in ovulation. Let’s fill in the blank in sentence
three. Estrogen stimulates the production
of LH immediately prior to ovulation.
LH is the hormone that stimulates
ovulation itself. And after the egg cell is released,
an empty follicle remains in the ovary that transforms into a structure called the
corpus luteum. The corpus luteum produces the
ovarian hormone progesterone. Progesterone maintains a thick
lining of the uterus, preparing it for the possible implantation of an embryo if the
egg cell is fertilized by a sperm cell. Progesterone also plays a role in
inhibiting the release of FSH and LH from the anterior pituitary gland. This means we can fill in the blank
in our final sentence. Progesterone inhibits the
production of FSH and LH.
Now we know all of the words that
should fill in the blanks in each sentence: (1), stimulates; (2), inhibits; (3),
stimulates; and (4), inhibits.
