The uterus or womb is the major female reproductive organ of most mammals, including humans.
The uterus is located inside the pelvis immediately dorsal (and usually somewhat rostral) to the urinary bladder and ventral to the rectum.
Outside of pregnancy, its size is several centimeters in diameter.
The main function of the uterus is to accept a fertilized ovum which becomes implanted into the endometrium, and derives nourishment from blood vessels which develop exclusively for this purpose.
The fertilized ovum becomes an embryo, develops into a fetus and gestates until childbirth.
Due to anatomical barriers such as the pelvis, the uterus is pushed partially into the abdomen due to its expansion during pregnancy.
Even in pregnancy the mass of a human uterus amounts to only about a kilogram (2.2 pounds).
For more information about the topic Uterus, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Hysterectomy A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually done by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total (removing the body and cervix of the ... >
read more
Uterine fibroids Uterine fibroids (leiomyomata, singular leiomyoma) are the most common neoplasm in females, and may affect about 25 % of white and 50% of black women ... >
read more
Mammary gland Mammary glands are the organs that, in the female mammal, produce milk for the sustenance of the young. These exocrine glands are enlarged and ... >
read more
Placenta The placenta is an ephemeral (temporary) organ present only in female placental vertebrates during gestation (pregnancy). All mammals other than ... >
read more
Gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology literally means 'the science of women', but in medicine this is the specialty of diseases of the female reproductive ... >
read more
Pap smear In gynecology, the Papanikolaou test or Papanicolaou test (also called Pap smear, Pap test, cervical smear, or smear test) is a medical screening ... >
read more
Lymph node Lymph nodes are components of the lymphatic system. Lymph nodes act as filters, with an internal honeycomb of connective tissue filled with ... >
read more
Artificial insemination Artificial insemination (AI) is when sperm is placed into a female's ovarian follicle (intrafollicular), uterus (intrauterine), cervix ... >
read more
Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Uterus at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details. Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools: