womb

Womb. This is the organ that holds the embryo that eventually becomes a viable baby when someone’s pregnant. People who have a vulva, a clitoris and a vagina have this organ too, past the vagina. Each reproductive cycle, before ovulation, the womb’s lining swells with blood to help feed the embryo the nutrient it needs to grow. When fertilization doesn’t happen, this blood and cells from the lining leave the body through the vagina, during the menstruation (period) part of the reproductive cycle. The womb is also called the uterus. It can be removed through surgery as a form of permanent sterilization or as a gender-affirming surgery; this is called a hysterectomy.