The female reproductive system is more complex than the male's because it serves more purposes. Whereas the male needs only to produce and deliver gametes, the female must do this as well as provide nutrition and safe harbor for fetal development and then give birth and nourish the infant. Furthermore, female reproductive physiology is cyclic and female hormones are secreted in a more complex sequence compared to the relatively steady, simultaneous secretion of regulatory hormones in the male.

This chapter discusses the anatomy of the female reproductive system; the production of gametes and how it relates to the ovarian and menstrual cycles; the female sexual response; and the physiology of pregnancy, birth, and lactation. Embryonic and fetal development are treated in the next chapter.