Development and preservation of pregnancy is possible due to the normal functioning of the yellow body - a temporary gland of internal secretion, which before the 20th week produces the so-called pregnancy hormone - progesterone. After this period, this mission is assigned to the placenta.
The action of progesterone is expressed in ensuring a sufficient expansion of the functional layer of the endometrium, allowing after the fertilization of the egg to make a correct "landing" of the fetal egg in the uterine cavity (implantation). When pregnancy occurs, the task of the hormone is to prevent "rejection" of the embryo by controlling spontaneous uterine contractions in order to prevent the onset of menstruation. In addition, it prevents new ovulation. To understand the extent to which the yellow body cures with its function of creating a hormonal balance during pregnancy, the size of the "yellow" gland is studied.
The amount of hormones that produces the yellow body, determines its size. At the same time, changes in the hormonal background lead to the fact that during different periods of pregnancy they are not constant: in the early stages, the yellow body first grows, and later - at 16-20 weeks of pregnancy - becomes smaller and gradually disappears, assigning powers to the placenta, as it was noted above.
The normal size of the yellow body
The norm of the yellow body during pregnancy is 10-30 mm in diameter. Deviations in greater or lesser range from this range of values indicate conditions such as insufficiency or cyst of the yellow body, which require restoration and normalization of the level of progesterone in the woman's body. So, for example, miscarriage or placental insufficiency in the process of bearing a fetus can lead to not taken in time measures to eliminate the diagnosis of a deficiency of the yellow body. Progesterone insufficiency, characterized by a small yellow body (up to 10 mm in diameter), can be supplemented with the use of progesterone containing preparations (Dufaston, Utrozhestan).
The cyst of the yellow body during pregnancy is a benign formation, the size of which in diameter can reach up to 6 cm. It does not pose a particular threat, since, despite its size, the yellow body continues to produce progesterone. Cystic condition can be asymptomatic or with slightly pulling pains in the lower abdomen. Normally, the cyst should disappear on its own, but nevertheless, in order to avoid possible complications (bleeding, intoxication of the body), mandatory monitoring of its condition is required. Therefore, during the transition of functions to the placenta, the yellow body requires mandatory ultrasound examination.