Patient's question:
NoDoctor's answer:
Hello, the maintenance of female secondary sexual characteristics depends on the female hormones produced by the gonads-ovaries. Each woman has two ovaries, located on either side of the uterus. In women of reproductive age, the ovaries undergo cyclic follicular development, maturation, and ovulation, producing estrogen and progesterone, which maintain female sexual characteristics. The uterus is the site for, and the cyclical shedding of the endometrium forms menstruation. Therefore, after a hysterectomy, as long as one ovary is retained, the secretion of female hormones can remain at nearly normal levels. Although menstruation no longer occurs and fertility is lost.