MamasHealth.com Home Organs and Glands Adrenal Appendix Bladder Brain Digestive system Eye Gall Bladder Heart Intestine Kidney Liver Lungs Organ donors Organ transplants Ovaries Pancreas Prostate Spleen Stomach Thyroid Self-defense Escape a two-handed choke hold Escape from a knife attack Escape from a choke hold Escape abduction attempt Escape a choke hold Escape a elbow grab Escape a knife attack Escape a two-handed choke hold Escape a wrist grab Power strike No French Kissing: H1N1 flu causes alarm in France MamasHealthBlog.com Email Mama Make money during a recession Bone marrow donor	What are ovaries? The ovaries are a pair of female reproductive organs. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. The ovaries are connected to each other by the Fallopian tubes. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries have two functions: they produce eggs (also called ova) and female hormones. The size of each ovary is about 1.5 inches long. Each month, during the menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a fallopian tube to the uterus. The ovaries are the main source of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). These hormones control the development of female body characteristics, such as the breasts, body shape, and body hair. The ovaries also regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. What is estrogen? Estrogen is a group of female sex hormones that stimulate the appearance of secondary female sex characteristics in girls at puberty. Estrogen controls controls the growth of the lining of the uterus during the first part of the menstrual cycle, cause breast development in pregnancy and regulates various metabolic processes. Diseases associated with Ovaries The ovary may be the site of several disease conditions. Some of the possible diseases are acute and chronic inflammation, tumors, cancer, and cysts. Read about ovarian cancer	Sign up for our Email Newsletter For Email Marketing you can trust
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