Title: uterine cycle
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - uterine cycle
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.11347
Status: current

Definition
Regular, periodic changes that occur in the uterus and, together with the ovarian cycle constitute the menstrual cycle necessary for female fertility.

Notes
1) The uterine cycle consists of three phases: i) menstruation, ii) a proliferative phase in which the uterine wall thickens under the influence of estrogen, and iii) a secretory phase in which the corpus luteum is producing progesterone and the endometrium becomes receptive to implantation of the blastocyst.
2) The three phases of the uterine cycle correspond to the three phases of the ovarian cycle.

Related Terms
- blastocyst: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10462
- corpus luteum: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10560
- endometrium: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10660
- estrogen: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10680
- fertility: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10710
- implantation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10841
- menstrual cycle: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10936
- menstruation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/10937
- ovarian cycle: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11055
- progesterone: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11136
- uterus: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/11350

Source
- PAC, 2016, 88, 713. 'Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)' on page 818 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-1202)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11347/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11347/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11347/xml

Citation: Citation: 'uterine cycle' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.11347
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-08-07T14:40:39+00:00