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F

FALLOPIAN TUBES Ducts through which eggs travel to the uterus once released from the follicle. Sperm normally meet the egg in the fallopian tube, the site at which fertilisation usually occurs.

FEMALE KALLMAN'S SYNDROME A condition characterized by infantile sexual development and an inability to smell. Since the pituitary cannot produce LH and FSH, the woman must take hormone supplements to achieve puberty, to maintain secondary sex characteristics, and to achieve fertility.

FERNING A pattern characteristic of dried cervical mucus viewed on a slide. When the fern pattern appears, the mucus has been thinned and prepared by estrogen for the passage of sperm. If it does not fern, the mucus will be hostile to the passage of the sperm.

FERTILITY TREATMENT Any method or procedure used to enhance fertility or increase the likelihood of pregnancy, such as ovulation induction treatment, varicocele repair, and microsurgery to repair damaged fallopian tubes. The goal of fertility treatment is to help couples have a child.

FERTILISATION The combining of the genetic material carried by sperm and egg to create an embryo. Normally occurs inside the fallopian tube (in vivo) but may also occur in a petri dish (in vitro). See also In Vitro Fertilisation.

FETUS A term used to refer to a baby during the period of gestation between eight weeks and term.

FIBROID (MYOMA OR LEIOMYOMA) A benign tumor of the uterine muscle and connective tissue.

FIMBRIA Finger like projections at the end of the fallopian tube nearest the ovary. When stimulated by the follicular fluid released during ovulation, the fingerlike ends grasp the ovary and coax the egg into the tube.

FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE (FSH) A pituitary hormone that stimulates spermatogenesis and follicular development. In the man FSH stimulates the Sertoli cells in the testicles and supports sperm production. In the woman FSH stimulates the growth of the ovarian follicle. Elevated FSH levels are indicative of gonadal failure in both men and woman.

FOLLICLES Fluid filled sacs in the ovary which contain the eggs released at ovulation. Each month an egg develops inside the ovary in a fluid filled pocket called a follicle. This follicle is one inch in size and is about ready to ovulate.

FOLLICULAR FLUID The fluid inside the follicle that cushions and nourishes the ovum. When released during ovulation, the fluid stimulates the fimbria to grasp the ovary and coax the egg into the fallopian tube.

FOLLICULAR PHASE The preovulatory portion of a womans cycle during which a follicle grows and high levels of estrogen cause the lining of the uterus to proliferate. Normally takes between 12 and 14 days.