The corpus luteum is a small gland that performs large tasks in the female body. It allows you to prepare for a possible pregnancy and protects it in the early stages, it is the corpus luteum that sets a certain cyclicality for the female menstrual cycle.
What is it and the terms of education
The menstrual cycles of different women differ - in duration, abundance of discharge, the presence or absence of unpleasant symptoms during menstruation and in the ovulatory phase. But there is something in common, common to all, regardless of age, race and health. This is the sequence of the phases of the cycle. The formation of the corpus luteum is one of the important stages.
With the onset of the next cycle, several follicles mature in a woman's ovaries, but by the middle of the cycle one remains - the dominant one. A sex cell grows and develops in it. During ovulation, the follicular membrane ruptures under the influence of hormones, and the oocyte is able to leave the follicle. Further, it can be fertilized with sperm or not fertilized.
Regardless of the fate of the egg, after the rupture of the follicle from the residual fragments of the membranes in the ovary where the dominant follicle was, the formation of a completely new structure begins, which is called the corpus luteum for its color.
This is an endocrine gland, which takes over from the very first hours of existence the function of producing the sex hormone progesterone. Whether there is a fact of conception by this time or not, the corpus luteum is formed strictly after ovulation in any case. Progesterone begins to prepare the female body for a possible pregnancy: the layer of the endometrium thickens, immunity is partially reduced, and there is an accumulation of fluid and nutrients in the body. All this is done by progesterone.
The gland appears in the first hours after ovulation and grows. A week after the release of the egg, it reaches its peak of development. Usually, another important event occurs at this time - the implantation of the embryo, if the woman becomes pregnant. After it, the chorionic villi begin to produce the hCG hormone, which prevents the corpus luteum from ceasing to exist.
Up to 10-14 weeks of pregnancy, it ensures the preservation of the embryo, relaxes the uterine muscles, prevents miscarriage, and takes care of the correct formation of the fetus. Then the formed placenta begins to produce hormones, and the corpus luteum regresses as unnecessary.
If a woman does not conceive a baby during ovulation, the corpus luteum lives for about 10-12 days, and then regresses, stops producing progesterone.
The endocrine background changes, and menstruation begins. In the new cycle, all stages are sequentially repeated: the corpus luteum is formed, is in the ovary and disappears if there is no pregnancy.
Can you see him?
The only way to see the corpus luteum is with ultrasound. A temporary formation is visible on an ultrasound scan within a few days after ovulation, or more precisely, after 3 days. It looks like a small sac with signs of anechogenicity (presence of fluid inside). The presence of a corpus luteum according to ultrasound results means only one thing - ovulation has occurred. If it was not in this cycle, the corpus luteum is not found, because one cannot exist without the other.
It does not play a big role in which ovary the doctor will find the temporary gland: in the right or left. This does not affect anything and only speaks of which of the paired sex glands ovulated in this cycle.
If two yellow bodies are found at once (on the same gland or on different ones), this indicates that ovulation was double, two eggs were released at once, which significantly increases the woman's chances of becoming a happy mother of charming twins.
The size of the corpus luteum is normally from 10 to 30 mm. Smaller sizes indicate the insufficiency of the corpus luteum - a special condition in which a woman produces little progesterone, and therefore the support of the second phase is needed, otherwise it will not work to bear the baby. Excessive sizes indicate that a luteal cyst or a cyst of the corpus luteum is forming.
Many women believe that the detection of a corpus luteum on ultrasound is an indirect sign of pregnancy. This is not true. Temporary education is characteristic of all women in the second half of the cycle, and it does not indicate pregnancy or its absence.
However, the detection of a functioning corpus luteum a couple of days before or after the delay may be an indirect (not direct!) Indication that pregnancy is likely to exist.
Can you feel it?
A woman cannot feel the presence or absence of a corpus luteum in the ovary. The formation, flowering and regression of this temporary gland does not in any way affect the well-being of the lady, and if there are any "strange" individual sensations and symptoms, then this is more likely a consequence of the effects of progesterone than the presence of the corpus luteum.
Pain in the ovary after ovulation in the first 1-2 days is a consequence of irritation of the nerve endings and peritoneum by the released free fluid, in which the egg inside the follicle floated before ovulation. They are physiological and do not need treatment. However, pain that is localized in the ovarian area for a longer time is a reason to visit a doctor.
Acute pain may indicate complications of a cyst (follicular or luteal). Usually, such cystic formations resolve themselves and do not require medical intervention.
But sometimes complications are possible, for example: torsion of the cyst leg or its rupture. In this case, a pronounced pain syndrome really develops, and it is important to take the woman to a medical institution with a surgical hospital as soon as possible.
What affects the gland?
No matter how much a woman wants, she is unable to influence the likelihood of the formation of a corpus luteum and the processes of its growth. There are no such medicines, there are no traditional medicine methods that could somehow influence the luteinization process. The only thing this process depends on is the very fact of ovulation. If it is there, the corpus luteum is, if for some reason the follicle is not ripe or ripe, but could not burst, the yellow body is not formed.
If the corpus luteum is small and the doctor ascertains its insufficiency, then in most cases the prescribed hormonal treatment helps, for which progesterone preparations are used. They maintain the level of progesterone in the body, which is important for maintaining early pregnancy, but they cannot affect the growth of the gland and cause its enlargement.
Thus, women who want to have a healthy and normal menstrual cycle with timely ovulation and normal formation of the corpus luteum, you just need to adhere to the basic recommendations:
- avoid abortion;
- take a responsible approach to contraception issues: do not take hormonal drugs without a doctor's prescription, avoid frequent use of postcoital "fire" contraception ("Postinor" and its analogues);
- pay enough attention to the duration of night sleep, avoid working at night;
- lead a healthy lifestyle: do not smoke, do not consume alcohol and drugs, eat a balanced diet, avoid long mono-diets, sharp weight loss or significant correction in a short time - all this causes changes and hormonal imbalances;
- less contact with harmful substances, poisons and toxins, varnishes, paints and nitrates (if a woman works in hazardous industries, you should think about changing jobs if it is important to maintain reproductive health as long as possible);
- track your menstrual cycle, consult a doctor in time if it is displaced, irregular, delayed, or in case of an early arrival of menstruation - this may be a sign of beginning endocrine disorders;
- gynecological diseases and infections should be treated in time, once a year for prevention, you should visit a gynecologist.
If a woman cannot get pregnant within six months or a year, it is worth starting the examination with in order to find out does she ovulate at all, since its absence or violations are the most common causes of female infertility. This requires a week before the expected start date of the next menstruation, do an ultrasound scan to find out if there is a yellow body in it.
