Corpus luteum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). A new corpus luteum develops with each menstrual cycle. The "corpus luteum" develops from an ovarian follicle during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle or oestrous cycle, following the release of a secondary oocyte from the follicle during ovulation. The follicle first forms a corpus hemorrhagicum before it becomes a corpus luteum, but the term refers to the visible collection of blood, left after rupture of the follicle, that secretes progesterone. While the oocyte (later the zygote if fertilization occurs) traverses the Fallopian tube into the uterus, the corpus luteum remains in the ovary. The corpus
Breast development lactation by prolactin. Expression of the PRLR in breast tissue may increase by as much as 20-fold when estrogen and progesterone levels drop upon childbirth. With suckling from the infant, prolactin and oxytocin are secreted and mediate milk production and letdown, respectively. Prolactin suppresses the secretion of LH and FSH, which in turn results in continued low levels of estrogen and progesterone, and temporary amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycles) occurs. In the absence of regular, episodic suckling, which keeps prolactin concentrations high, levels of prolactin will quickly drop, the menstrual cycle will resume and hence normal estrogen and progesterone levels