The corpus luteum, also known as the yellow body, is a structure that is located in the woman's ovary and that is formed from the follicle, from where the oocyte is released during ovulation.
After ovulation, the corpus luteum continues to develop due to stimulation by the luteinizing hormones and stimulating follicle, LH and FSH, releasing estrogen and progesterone in large quantities, which is a hormone responsible for maintaining the conditions of the endometrium for possible pregnancy.
This is called the luteal phase and lasts about 14 days, if a pregnancy does not occur, eventually degenerating and decreasing in size, giving rise to the hemorrhagic body and subsequently to a scar tissue called the white body. With the degeneration of the corpus luteum, the production of estrogen and progesterone decreases, giving rise to menstruation and elimination of the lining of the endometrium. Understand how the menstrual cycle works.
What is the relation of the corpus luteum to pregnancy
If a pregnancy occurs, the cells that will give rise to the embryo, begin to release a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, hCG, which is the hormone detected in the urine when pregnancy tests are performed.
The hCG hormone exerts a similar action to LH and will stimulate the corpus luteum to develop, preventing it from degenerating and stimulating it to release estrogen and progesterone, which are very important hormones for maintaining endometrial conditions.
Around the 7th week of pregnancy, it is the placenta that begins to produce progesterone and estrogens, gradually replacing the function of the corpus luteum and causing it to degenerate around the 12th week of pregnancy. See how the baby develops each week of pregnancy.
