The female reproductive system consists of the ovaries, the female gonads, and the reproductive tract organs of the fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, and vagina. It functions to provide hormonal support and anatomical structure for the production of new offspring. A number of endogenous and exogenous factors can impact female reproductive health and fertility, including genetic vulnerability, medications, environmental exposures, age, nutrition, and diseases. To date, due to the ethical concerns of using human subjects in biomedical research, the majority of studies use in vivo animal models and 2D cell/tissue culture models to study female reproduction. However, the complexity and species difference of the female reproductive system in humans make it difficult to compare to those of animals. Moreover, the monolayered cells cultured on flat plastics or glass lose their 3D architecture as well as the physical and/or biochemical contacts with other cells in vivo. Further, all reproductive organs do not work alone but interconnect with each other and also with non-reproductive organs to support female reproductive, endocrine, and systemic health. These facts suggest that there is an urgent and unmet need to develop representative, effective, and efficient in vitro models for studying human female reproduction. The prodigious advancements of bioengineering (e.g., biomaterials, 3D printing, and organ-on-a-chip) allow us to study female reproduction in an entirely new way. Here, we review recent advances that use bioengineering methods to study female reproduction, including the bioengineering models of the ovary, fallopian tube, uterus, embryo implantation, placenta, and reproductive disease.

中文翻译：

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女性生殖的生物工程模型。


女性生殖系统由卵巢、女性性腺以及输卵管、子宫、子宫颈和阴道等生殖道器官组成。它的功能是为新后代的产生提供荷尔蒙支持和解剖结构。许多内源和外源因素会影响女性生殖健康和生育能力，包括遗传脆弱性、药物、环境暴露、年龄、营养和疾病。迄今为止，由于在生物医学研究中使用人类受试者的伦理问题，大多数研究使用体内动物模型和二维细胞/组织培养模型来研究女性生殖。然而，人类女性生殖系统的复杂性和物种差异使其难以与动物相比。此外，在平板塑料或玻璃上培养的单层细胞失去了它们的3D结构以及与体内其他细胞的物理和/或生化接触。此外，所有生殖器官并不是单独工作，而是相互关联并与非生殖器官相互关联，以支持女性生殖、内分泌和全身健康。这些事实表明，迫切需要开发具有代表性、有效且高效的体外模型来研究人类女性生殖。生物工程（例如生物材料、3D 打印和芯片器官）的巨大进步使我们能够以全新的方式研究女性生殖。在此，我们回顾了利用生物工程方法研究女性生殖的最新进展，包括卵巢、输卵管、子宫、胚胎着床、胎盘和生殖疾病的生物工程模型。