Life Health Sciences – Science Rules it All

Disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis make female athlete triad syndrome¹. The syndrome came into notice of health care professionals during 1980’s. Endurance competition for women, like First Women Olympic Marathon held in 1984 and first 10,000 meter race was held in 1988. The fashion for thinness also began in the same era leading to anorexia nervosa. Intense training and disordered eating habits in these athletes are considered to be etiological factor. The syndrome begins with disordered eating then amenorrhea and osteoporosis occurs³. The Incidence of amenorrhea varies in different type of sports and shows training intensity, calories taken and age group involved as associated factor in endurance sports.

A pairs of ovaries are the reproductive organs in woman. They are present just below the kidneys in the abdominal cavity. Each ovary has several sac like structures called OVARIAN FOLLICLES of GRAFFIAN FOLLICLES. Each follicle has a centrally placed cell called OVUM. The ovum is formed from a cell called PRIMARY OOCYTE. When ovum matures, the follicle ruptures and releases the ovum. Every time, only one follicle ruptures and releases one ovum into body cavity. The ruptured follicle is called CORPUS LUTEM and it secretes female sex hormones – oestrogen and progesterone. FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) secreted by pituitary stimulates the growth of follicle and luteinizing Hormone (LH) secreted by pituitary stimulates the rupture of follicle and conversion of follicle into corpus luteum.

The male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes, accessory glands and a system of ducts. Testes are the male reproductive organs and produce spermatozoa or sperms and also secrete the male sex hormone called TESTOSTERONE. Sperms are the haploid male gametes. Inside each testis, several lobules are present. Each lobule has several tubules called SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES. The epithelial cells lining these tubules are called GERMINAL EPITHELIUM. They undergo large number of mitotic division to produce spermatozoa. The spermatozoa are released into the lumen of the tubule. The duct system consists of VASA EFFERENTIA. They collect spermatozoa from seminiferous tubules. Vasa efferentia continue as EPIDIDYMIS in which sperms are stored temporarily. From here, sperms are moved into a tubule called VASDEFERENS and then into URETHRA. From urethra, a large number of sperms are expelled out of the body. Of these only one sperm fertilizes the ovum and the rest degenerate.