Abstract The success of pregnancy depends on (1) fertilization and successful implantation of the developing embryo into the endometrium; (2) development and function of the placenta; (3) adaptation of maternal…
Abstract The endometrium develops within the uterus, originating from the urogenital ridge early in development. This mucosal lining consists of epithelial and stromal cells invested with a specialized vasculature that…
Abstract The function of the hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular-accessory organ axis is to ensure normal androgenization (including embryonic, infantile, pubertal, and adult sexual maturation), male sexual behavior, and reproductively competent sperm output. Thus…
Abstract The relationship between a living organism and its environment is based on a tightly regulated balance between symbiosis and competition. The complexity of an organism is directly correlated to…
Abstract Industrial chemical production has increased over the last few decades. In that same time frame, a number of adverse reproductive and health conditions have increased, including infertility, early puberty,…
Abstract As men age, their reproductive functions, both spermatogenesis and testosterone production, diminish, but slowly and to a relatively small degree. The fall in testosterone appears to be the result…
Abstract There appears to a be an optimal window of nutritional sufficiency to allow for reproduction to occur in males and females. The male hypothalamic pituitary (HP) axis is relatively…
Abstract The ovary is a dynamic organ that undergoes some of the most dramatic changes in structure and function of any adult human tissue. The follicles are the major endocrine…
Abstract Lipids serve as metabolic substrates, structural components of cellular membranes, and signaling molecules. The steroidogenic machinery is compartmentalized at the organ, cellular, and subcellular level. Steroidogenic cells do not…
Abstract The pattern of regular ovulatory cycles required for normal reproduction in women is achieved through precise functional and temporal integration of stimulatory and inhibitory signals from the hypothalamus, the…
