Reproductive System Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The correct match is a-I, b-IV, c-II, d-III.

• Modified secretory structures involved in lactation are the mammary glands (I).
• Progesterone, estrogens, relaxin and inhibin are produced by the corpus luteum, the structure that forms from the ovarian follicle after ovulation (IV).
• The inner glandular layer of the uterus is the endometrium (II).
• The oviduct runs from the infundibulum through the ampulla to the isthmus, which joins the uterus, so the isthmus is its last part (III).

The other options swap the corpus luteum with the endometrium or the isthmus, which is the common mistake: the endometrium is a lining that responds to these hormones, it does not make them.

Answer: D

The reproductive phase extends between menarche and menopause.

Menarche is the first menstruation, at puberty, usually between 10 and 16 years. Menopause is the permanent stopping of menstruation, usually around 45 to 55 years. Between the two, regular cyclic menstruation shows that ovulation and the hormonal cycle are working normally.

'Menopause and Menarche' puts the events in the wrong order. Menstruation and fertilisation, and ovulation and menstruation, are events within one cycle, not the limits of the reproductive phase.

Answer: C

The correct matching is a-IV, b-III, c-I, d-II.

• Seminiferous tubules (a): production of sperm, IV.
• Epididymis (b): storage and maturation of sperm cells, III.
• Ovaries (c): production of eggs (ova), I.
• Placenta (d): passage of nutrients from mother to foetus, II.

Every option agrees on b-III, so the choice turns on c and d. Options A and B give the ovaries the placenta's function, and option D wrongly gives the seminiferous tubules the role of the placenta.

Answer: C

Fertilisation takes place in the Fallopian tube.

After ovulation the ovum is picked up by the fimbriae of the fallopian tube, and it usually meets the sperm in the ampulla, the widest part of the tube. The fertilised ovum then travels to the uterus over several days.

The ovary releases the ovum but is not where fertilisation happens. The uterus is where the embryo implants and grows, and the vagina receives the sperm during intercourse.

Answer: B

The hormone is testosterone.

The interstitial cells of the testis, also called Leydig cells, lie between the seminiferous tubules and secrete testosterone under the control of luteinising hormone. Testosterone drives sperm production and male secondary sexual characters.

Oxytocin is released from the posterior pituitary and causes uterine contraction and milk let-down. Estrogen is the main female sex hormone, made by the ovarian follicles. Thyroxine comes from the thyroid gland and controls metabolism.

Answer: D

The two phases are the follicular phase and the luteal phase.

The ovarian cycle describes changes in the ovary. In the follicular phase a follicle matures under FSH and produces estrogen; ovulation releases the ovum at mid-cycle; in the luteal phase the empty follicle becomes the corpus luteum, which secretes progesterone.

The menstrual phase belongs to the uterine (endometrial) cycle, the parallel changes in the uterine lining, and 'uterine phase' is not a part of the ovarian cycle at all. A Graafian follicle is the mature follicle, not a phase.

Answer: B

The external female genital organs are together called the vulva.

The vulva includes the mons pubis, the labia majora and minora, the clitoris, the vestibule with the openings of the urethra and vagina, and the associated glands.

The peritoneum is the membrane lining the abdominal cavity. The pelvis is the bony basin that houses the internal organs. The lumbosacral plexus is a network of nerves supplying the lower limbs and pelvis. None of these is the external genitalia.