Life Cycle of Sperm and Egg Essay

When asked how did I get pregnant? It seems like a rhetorical question. Of course many would say well you had sex Watson. That is a no brainer, but in all actuality that is not the extent of the answer. How do we become pregnant? What happens in order for that miracle we call life to be created? The egg develops during the first phase of the Menstrual Cycle. This first phase is called the Proliferative Phase. This phase begins at the end of your menstruation and last about 9 to 10 days during the average 28-day cycle. The ovaries then prepare for the ovulation within a phase called the preovulatory phase or the follicular phase. At this time there are low levels of estrogen and progesterone in the woman’s blood stream. A report by Spencer A. Rathus, Jeffrey S. Nevid, and Lois Fichner-Rathus (2011) explains that the hypothalamus senses a low level of estrogen in the blood; it then increases secretion of Gn-RH, which in turn triggers the pituitary gland to release a follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Thus after this occurs the FSH stimulates follicles to mature and then proceeds to create estrogen. In a normal situation only one follicle will reach true maturity in the days proceeding to ovulation. This then leads to maturity of the graafian follicle. As it matures like any budding child that blossoms and grow out of their clothes, this specific follicle starts to move toward the surface of the ovary and then eventually release itself after rupturing. During the rupturing process this follicle releases a mature egg. After the egg is released the endometrium in the uterus starts to thicken due to the about of estrogen. Glands will eventually develop and these glands will help to feed any embryo that may possibly exist. A thin cervical mucus is stimulated by the estrogen as well which will also provide for nourishment for the sperm, increasing the chances of the sperms survival rate. The second phase of the cycle is the ovulatory phase, which involves the process in accordance the mature follicle egg being released. There is a misconception that the egg is released into the fallopian tube when in all actuality it is released near the tube itself. This phase begins with the estrogen levels peak. The third phase f the cycle is called the postuvulary phase or the secretory phase. Another name for this phase is the Luteal Phase, which derives from the name of the ruptured follicle (â€Å"Corpus Luteum†). Due to the influence the LH has on the Corpus Luteum the levels of estrogen are increasing as well as the levels of progesterone. Just like in the second phase when you reach this phase and the levels peak once again and keeping in mind the egg has remained in the ovary. Within a normal 28-day cycle this tends to occur on either the 20 or 21st day. Hormones at this time cause the glands to release nutrients that will provide for any fertilized ovum that may become implanted in the woman’s uterine wall. Picture a spider and its web and you’ve got the just of this phase. If the egg does not implant then the production of LH and FSH stops. The fourth and last phase occurs when the decrease of estrogen and progestone levels are no longer supporting the uterine lining. This cycle is also seen as the beginning and the end because the cycle not only end but also begins again. Most women would wish the cycle would not repeat itself but unfortunately someone had a sense of humor when they thought of ways to make things uncomfortable with a woman at least once a week for a few days. Just like everything else in life when God made man and women he made development easier on men. This is why I would assume that God must be a male. Even though the woman has four stages in order to reach the development of eggs a man’s sperm development is a little more basic and no bleeding necessary. The development of the sperm also has many stages and these stages take up to 72 days for the testes to develop a mature sperm. It seems everything must be mature enough to make any journey in life including eggs and sperm. It’s like sending your kids off to college once they have passed all the phases of life and have graduated to the last step. In the beginning the sperm is called spermatocytes which contain 46 chromosomes which of course would be the famous letters x and y. Each spermatocyte then divides or divorces and splits it assets in half and when divided it is then called a spermatid. Each spermatid at that time will house 23 chromosomes half will have x and half will have y. Once the sperm matures it is then called a spermatozoa, which have a head, a cone-shaped midsection, and a tail. Just like anything the core that is the mid section provide the energy for the swimming power or for the tail to swim back and forth. For fertilization to occur 23 chromosomes from the father’s sperm meet a secret location and â€Å"hook up† (since there was no courting involved) with the 23 chromosomes from the mother’s ovum. This of course would make up the 46. I wonder if this is what they meant when they said it takes two to tango. With all that is going on inside our bodies there is also so much that we already know such as the testicles are like a storage container for sperm and house all the little fellas waiting for a raise to begin. For a woman it is more of a hid and seek game. Finding the egg that is attached to our walls and locking all doors waiting to see if any sperm can pick the lock. We never take the time out to see all that we truly are and before having the obstacle course begin in our bodies it is good to know what exactly is going on and how these things truly do occur.