A Human Reproduction Quiz

1: Gestation Period
Normal full-term human pregnancy lasts anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks. The average is 40 weeks, and the trimesters are: 1-12, 13-27 and 28-40 weeks. But starting from when?
a - The end of the last period.
b - The beginning of the first missed period.
c - Half way between the beginning of the last period and the beginning of the first missed period.
d - Half way between the end of the last period and the beginning of the first missed period.

2: Menstruation
Why does menstruation occur?
a - Monthly egg release is by rupture of a follicle in an ovary. This causes the bleeding.
b - The uterine lining is so blood vessel swollen in preparation to receive an embryo that if there is no
implantation the lining can not continue in that state. Uterine wall breakdown causes the bleeding.
c - When the monthly unfertilized egg implants in the uterine lining it is rejected and sloughed off
by breakdown of the lining, whence the monthly bleeding.

3: Cessation of Period
At the beginning of pregnancy something has to signal the mother's monthly period to stop so that the embryo can implant and remain in the uterine lining. What is the control mechanism?
a - Stimulation of the cilia in the fallopian tube as the new embryo descends causes
hormonal release to prevent another period.
b - The embryo releases chemicals as it descends the fallopian tube and enters the womb. This
is sensed before implantation and induces a change in pattern of the mother's hormonal system.
c - From the beginning of implantation on day seven, the embryo releases a hormone that
takes over control of the mother's hormonal system.
d - Implantation occurs well before the next period is due, and the physical presence
of the placenta prevents the next menstruation from happening.

4: Lactation
During the time a mother nurses she usually release milk only when the baby needs it. Is there a control mechanism, and if so, what?
a - There is no maternal control mechanism. The baby's suckling draws out the milk.
b - Milk is released when the mother relaxes appropriately.
c - Suckling sensation causes the mother's brain to secrete a hormone that releases the milk.

5: Breach Delivery
Can breach delivery succeed naturally without Cesarean section?
a - No.
b - Yes, but the risk for the baby is higher.
c - Yes, but only if the baby is repositioned by a doctor or midwife as delivery begins.
d - Yes, but as a normal delivery. The doctor turns the baby before delivery using
a procedure called external cephalic version.

6: Sperm Production
The man's sperm producing system does not know the schedule for when the woman will be producing an egg. Yet a woman's egg is viable for only a day, and the man's sperm for only two days. How does he make sperm that is viable when needed?
a - He makes sperm all the time, but it is reabsorbed if not used.
b - Above, but the sperm becomes viable only if activated by prostate fluid.
c - Sperm are very simple cells compared to eggs. So the man can make them whenever needed.

7: Milestones
What do the following milestones of early human development have in common:
- Fertilization
- Implantation
- Gastrulation at 12 days after which twinning can not occur
- Potential self-sustainability at about 25 weeks
- EEG found at 27 weeks, indicating successful brain and nervous system development
a - These are the major hurdles marking successful progression of early human life.
b - They are only a partial list of developmental milestones and others are more important.
c - They have all been used to argue the time of ensoulment and to mark
the beginning of fully human life.
d - They are not related.

8: Photograph
The picture at the right is of an early fetus in its amniotic sack. How could it be obtained?
a - By color editing a sonogram.
b - After a natural miscarriage.
c - By liposuction abortion.
d - By induced miscarriage abortion.
e - By operating on an ectopic tubal pregnancy.