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In the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a contraceptive that allowed women to plan desired pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Oral hormonal contraception ('the pill') uses synthetic hormones similar in structure to progesterone and/or estradiol. What is the pill's mechanism of action?
Scientists confirmed the pill's mechanism of action by measuring plasma hormone levels in women before and after they went on the pill (* means P<0.05, ** means P<0.01, and *** means P<0.001). Do the data shown here support the hypothesis that the pill affects hormonal signaling?

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In the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a contraceptive that allowed women to plan desired pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Oral hormonal contraception ('the pill') uses synthetic hormones similar in structure to progesterone and/or estradiol. What is the pill's mechanism of action?

Which of the following is the most effective form of contraception?

a. Condom

b. Diaphragm

c. Withdrawal

d. The pill

How does a zygote differ from a mature egg?

a. A zygote has more chromosomes.

b. A zygote is smaller.

c. A zygote consists of more than one cell.

d. A zygote divides by meiosis.

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In the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a contraceptive that allowed women to plan desired pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Oral hormonal contraception ('the pill') uses synthetic hormones similar in structure to progesterone and/or estradiol. What is the pill's mechanism of action?

Use your knowledge of the hormonal regulation of reproduction to predict the effect of a daily synthetic progesterone pill on (a) pituitary secretion of LH and FSH, and (b) ovarian secretion of estradiol and progesterone.

A woman had several miscarriages. Her doctor suspected that a hormonal insufficiency was causing the lining of the uterus to break down, as it does during menstruation, terminating her pregnancies. Treatment with which of the following might help her remain pregnant?

a. Oxytocin

b. Follicle-stimulating hormone

c. Luteinizing hormone

d. Prolactin

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In the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a contraceptive that allowed women to plan desired pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Oral hormonal contraception ('the pill') uses synthetic hormones similar in structure to progesterone and/or estradiol. What is the pill's mechanism of action?

Use the information in the graph to explain how the pill affects each of the following: (a) maturation of a follicle, (b) thickening of the uterine lining during the follicular phase, (c) probability of ovulation, and (d) volume of menstrual fluid.

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In the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a contraceptive that allowed women to plan desired pregnancies and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Oral hormonal contraception ('the pill') uses synthetic hormones similar in structure to progesterone and/or estradiol. What is the pill's mechanism of action?

Use Table 47.2 to compare and contrast the mechanisms of action of emergency contraception and mifepristone to that of the pill. Which methods act as contraception and which act to terminate a pregnancy? Explain.