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UTERUS: THE SUPREME WONDER OR THE BROOD CHAMBER, (August, 2004) Uterus, the womb is a tiny pear shaped muscular pouch like organ present in the pelvis of a woman. It nurses a minute fleck of life to a new These monthly preparations involve complex changes: construction of an intricate network of new blood vessels, new glands & new tissues. All these changes occur under the influence of the hormones produced by the ovary. Under the influence of hormone called estrogen the inner lining of the uterus, the endometrium thickens & the glands enlarge to provide the nourishment for the new life. At mid cycle after the ovulation takes place & another hormone called progesterone is produced by the ovary. Progesterone relaxes the uterus, prepares the lining for the implantation to take place & stimulates the glands to secrete the nutritious substances necessary for the fertilized egg. But when the egg is not fertilized all of these tissues are discarded & the woman has her periods. The whole process starts again as the next cycle. These types of preparation for the fertilized egg implantation takes place every month from the time a girl attains menarche & goes on until menopause. This will happen for more than 400 times for just a few pregnancies. When the fertilized egg does come in, the uterus as always will be prepared for it. The uterine gland secretions will provide the fertilized egg, which is now a cluster of few cells with the essential nourishment. The fertilized egg will get attached to the endometrium & starts growing. From then on the uterus works incessantly for 9 months 24 hrs a day to provide the baby with nourishment & a cozy & protective environment. Along with the baby the uterus also grows by about 500 times & weighs around 1000 grams by the end of pregnancy. The shape also changes from a pear shape to ovoid. The uterus becomes more muscular gets ready to do the important job of labor. After some time the monthly preparations start again & go on until the next pregnancy or until the ovary has exhausted all its eggs. The functions of the uterus come to a grinding halt & this is termed as menopause. Unfortunately our wonder organ can cause problems, which can be quite distressing & at times life threatening. The monthly bleeds can become unusually heavy or painful. Non-cancerous growths from its muscle layer, the fibroids or cancerous growths from its lining can arise. In some women the uterus may drop down & cause annoying problems. These are the conditions that may force us to bid a farewell to our wonderful friend. The surgery done to remove the womb is termed "hysterectomy". Details about hysterectomy will follow in the future newsletters. Dr Sukhada R Rao, MBBS,MD(Ob & G)
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human being capable of independent life. But it is unjustly termed as "the brood chamber". This is because each month the uterus goes through the elaborate process of preparing for a pregnancy & when there is no pregnancy it cries. 
Once the baby is fully prepared to be in the outside world the uterus will start the process of ejecting out the fetus. The first job is to open up the cervix. The cervix, which is the mouth of the uterus, was tightly shut all along this time & there by prevented the baby from falling off. It has to now enlarge to 10 centimeters in diameter to allow the baby's head to pass. Once the cervix is fully dilated the baby will pushed out by the strong contractions of the uterus. Once this process is over the uterus starts to shrink & by 6 weeks the uterus regains its usual size. 