- Adolescence: Period of life during which the body undergoes growth and changes, in order to attain reproductive maturity.
- Puberty: Process of physical changes through which the child’s body grows and matures into an adult body capable of reproduction.
- Reproductive phase of life: It lasts from 12 years of age to 40 to 45 years. In this phase, testes of male starts producing sperms and ovaries of females starts releasing egg.
- Menstruation:
- One of the ovaries in the female body releases on mature ova or egg in 28 to 30 days.
- Uterine wall becomes thick to receive egg for fertilization that results into pregnancy.
- If fertilization does not occur thus uterine wall and blood vessels breaks and come along with the egg. This causes bleeding in women known as menstruation.
- This occurs in every 28 to 30 days, thus known as menstrual cycle that lasts for 3 to 5 days.
- Changes in puberty :
Boys Girls Increase in height Growth is slower than girls but attains maximum height till age 18 Growth is faster than boys and attains max height at age 18 Changes in body shape Shoulders go on broadening and growth of muscles Part of body below the waist becomes wider Voice change Boys have deep voice irls have high pitched voice Increased activity of glands Secretion of sweat glands and sebaceous glands increases which causes pimples and acne Secretion of sweat glands and sebaceous glands increases which causes pimples and acne Development of sex organs Testes in male starts producing sperms Ovaries in female starts releasing mature egg Secondary sexual characters - Growth of moustaches, beard and hair on chest
- Growth of hair in underarms and in pubic region
- Growth of breasts
- Growth of hairs in underarms and in pubic region
- Exocrine glands: Glands having separate duct. E.g. Salivary glands, Gastric glands, etc.
- Endocrine glands: Do not have separate duct and secretions enter directly into the blood stream. E.g. pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal gland, pancreas, ovary in females and testes in males
- Sex hormones:
- In males : Testosterone enter bloodstream and facilitate changes like growth of facial hair, hairs on chest and similar changes.
- In females: Hormone stimulates the ovaries to produce estrogen. Estrogen facilitates changes in females like breast development, development of milk secreting glands called mammary glands inside breasts.
- Other hormones:
Hormone Secreted by Function / problems Thyroxine Thyroid gland Essential to carry out metabolism Insulin Pancreatic gland Insufficient production of insulin causes diabetes. Adrenaline Adrenal glands Helps the body to adjust to stress in case one is worried, angry, or embarrassed. Hormones to stimulate other respective glands Pituitary gland Stimulate respective glands. Supports growth of the body - Sex determination: The biological process through which sexual characteristics of an individual develops making it a male individual or female individual is called sex determination
Father (XY) Mother (XX) Child X X XX (Girl) Y X XY (Boy) - Reproductive health:
- Adolescents must have a balanced diet
- For babies mothers milk is complete source of nourishment
- Avoid snacks, packed food materials
- Adolescents should maintain cleanliness as sweat glands are more active, girls should maintain proper hygiene during menstruation.
- Carry out physical exercise like walking, playing, yoga, etc.
- Say no to drugs
- Stay protected from diseases like AIDS
- Motherhood should be accepted after the physical and mental growth of women. Early motherhood causes stress and affects health.
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