21.0 Module Overview

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II · MODULE 21

The bleeding and the empty crib nobody connected

Years of abnormal uterine bleeding, worked up alone. Infertility, worked up alone. This module builds reproductive anatomy and physiology, then reads both as consequences of a disease that had already inflamed everything else in the pelvis.

Her bleeding was investigated as a gynecologic problem and her infertility as a separate misfortune. Neither workup asked what else was inflaming her peritoneum, and neither considered that recurrent peritonitis leaves adhesions behind.

Two forces, both hers: pelvic adhesions from repeated serositis, and a chronic inflammatory load that disturbs the hormonal axis driving the cycle. Read that way, the empty crib was not bad luck. It was a diagnosis nobody had made yet.

PATIENT CHART · STINA · CHART CLUE #21

  • Years — Abnormal uterine bleeding
  • Years — Infertility, cause unexplained
  • History — Recurrent peritonitis
  • Inferred — Pelvic adhesions

Each part opens with a finding from Stina’s chart and asks you to commit to a prediction before any video plays, then alternates short videos with H5P activities. Work them in order.

21.1

The Bleeding and the Empty Crib

Two workups that never met, and what they missed.

CASE OPENING

OPEN →

21.2

The Female Reproductive Anatomy

The organs, their support, and their blood supply.

FEMALE ANATOMY

OPEN →

21.3

The Male Reproductive Anatomy

The organs and how gametes are made.

MALE ANATOMY

OPEN →

21.4

The Ovarian and Uterine Cycles

The hormonal conductor behind both cycles.

HORMONAL CYCLES

OPEN →

21.5

Fertilization and the First Days

From fertilization through implantation.

FERTILIZATION

OPEN →

21.6

How FMF Reached Reproduction

Adhesions, inflammation, and the axis they disturb.

INFLAMMATION

OPEN →

21.7

Not Bad Luck, a Diagnosis

Bleeding and infertility, read as one disease.

CHART CLUE #21

OPEN →

The Evidence Behind the Case

Every step of this module’s reasoning, paired with the peer-reviewed literature behind it.

REFERENCES

OPEN →

By the end of Module 21 you will be able to:

1

Identify the organs of the female reproductive system and describe their functions.

2

Identify the organs of the male reproductive system and describe spermatogenesis.

3

Describe oogenesis and the events of the ovarian and uterine cycles.

4

Explain the hormonal control of the reproductive cycles.

5

Describe fertilization, cleavage, and implantation.

6

Explain how chronic inflammation and pelvic adhesions impair fertility.

List of terms