By its natural essence is the temporary appearance of a specific endocrine gland in a woman's body. It arises in the ovaries immediately after the fertilization process (ovulation) is over. The main functions of the yellow body in the left ovary are the production of progesterone and estrogen. Its name is due to the yellow color of the contents of the granular cells that make it directly.
When does the yellow body appear?
The period of its appearance falls on that phase of the cycle of menstruation, in which a mature egg leaves the follicle, in other words - ovulation occurs. The hormone secreted by the yellow body - progesterone is required to reduce the muscular activity of the uterus, in order to preserve the future fetus. However, if pregnancy does not take place, then under the influence of brain signals, the endocrine system, and the yellow body in particular, stop releasing progesterone. The result is an active contraction of the uterus and the onset of menstruation. The hormone hCG, which occurs when a pregnancy occurs, causes a rapid growth of the yellow body and forces it to secrete progesterone in an even larger amount.
How long does the yellow body live?
Everything depends on the reasons that influenced its occurrence. Appearing before the monthly yellow body, as a rule, there are no more than sixteen days. During this period, it passes several phases of development, such as:
- 7-8 ovulation day: the maximum release of progesterone into the blood;
- 12-14 day: the phase of the yellow body is observed, due to which its cells change to connective tissues, the production of hormones ceases, monthly ones come on;
- 45th day: in the ovary there is only a whitish scar, which dissolves without a trace.
How long does the phase of the yellow body last for pregnancy?
If the egg was fertilized and you can talk about the initial stage of pregnancy, then the description of how much the yellow body lives will look quite different. It should already be called the yellow body of pregnancy. In the first weeks of pregnancy, it reaches its peak. The size of the yellow body after ovulation, as a result of which fertilization has come, can reach 2 cm in diameter. Experts allow fluctuations in its dimensions from 30 to 10 millimeters. If at the next session of ultrasound you were told that your yellow body is 16 mm, do not panic, which is below the standards. So at the moment the hormone he produces is quite enough, and there are no reasons for concern.
When does the yellow body disappear?
With the fully formed placenta, the yellow body after ovulation disappears in about a couple of weeks after fertilization. Its functions for the release of progesterone completely take over, connecting the mother and the fetus, the placenta.
Situations when the yellow body disappears without beginning to perform its functions, or does not appear at all, is considered a pathology in gynecology and requires long-term treatment with hormonal preparations. Rarely is there such a phenomenon as the persistence of the yellow body. As a result of this disruption in the work of the female body, the yellow body reproduces the progesterone for too long, without passing into the phase of atrophy. The consequences of this pathology are as follows:
- a slow decrease in the level of the hormone;
- decreased uterine tone;
- rejection of the uterine layer;
- profuse and prolonged bleeding, which can lead to amenorrhea, etc.
The reason for the appearance of a persistence can be, for example, a cyst of the left ovary with a yellow body, or other functional neoplasms in one or both ovaries.