During childbirth, oxytocin stimulates fetal expulsion through cervical dilation and uterine contractions. Oxytocin is also important in the development of maternal feelings of attachment to the fetus and plays a role in lactation.

Instrumental delivery is the delivery of an infant through the use of medical instruments. This is used in the case of difficult deliveries and labor complications. Instruments that are commonly used include the vacuum extractor and forceps.

Prolactin is a hormone responsible for the production of milk in the mammary glands of mammals. It is not involved in the menstrual cycle, which is controlled by fluctuating levels of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

Ejaculation is defined as the process by which sperm is discharged from the male body through the urethra. This process typically occurs during the male orgasm.

One average, one menstrual cycle typically lasts for about 28 days; however, this time length can range anywhere from 21 to 35 days depending on the individual.

An increase in estrogen causes an increase in the luteinizing hormone. It is the luteinizing hormone that causes ovulation. Ovulation is the process of releasing an ovum. 

Growth hormone creates growth in the body. Follicle-stimulating hormone helps follicles mature, and promotes spermatogenesis in males. Prolactin causes the mammary glands to create milk. Thyroid-stimulating hormone helps release thyroxine and triiodothyronine (thyroid hormones).

Intercurrent diseases are diseases that are not related to being pregnant (they were pre-existing) but may worsen during pregnancy. These diseases pose a risk to the developing fetus and special attention needs to be given to the drugs taken to treat the exiting illness because they may negatively impact the fetus. In the case of infections, there is a risk of vertical transmission to the fetus.

The tiny gaps in between myelin sheaths are referred to as nodes of Ranvier. The action potential will jump from node to node as it moves down the axon.

If an axon existed without these gaps (the entire length was covered in myelin), it would be unable to conduct an action potential.

Neurotransmitters from presynaptic cells are received by the dendrites of postsynaptic cells. There are myriad dendrites on each neuron that then propagate this signal to the soma (or cell body), allowing the signal to be passed down the axon to another neuron.

The axon carries action potentials away from the cell body of a neuron via a sequence of continuous depolarization. The cell body, or soma, however, is the site of neurotransmitter production and the location of the nucleus and other organelles. Every single neuron contains only one axon.