LH Surge

by Greg Crowther

This jingle -- covering the role of luteinizing hormone (LH) in the ovarian reproductive cycle of mammals -- was originally written for Biology 242 and 352 at UW-Bothell.

When you have an oocyte on the verge....
La la la la la la, LH surge!
Out from the follicle it will emerge....
La la la la la la, LH surge!

But ovulation is postponed
With shots or tablets of progesterone....

Then
GnRH pulses are a slow, slow dirge....
Na na na na na, no LH surge!
Oocyte and sperm just can't coverge....
Na na na na na, no LH surge!

• MP3 (demo)

• sheet music

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) What does the abbreviation "LH" stand for?

(2) Where is LH produced and what stimulates its production?

(3) What kind of chemical structure (steroid, amino acid derivative, protein) does LH have?

(4) Where does LH act?

(5) What, in general, is an LH surge?

(6) What is meant by the words "GnRH pulses are a slow, slow dirge"?

(7) Based on this song, what is in birth control pills and how do they prevent conception?

(8) Considering the specific content covered by this song, is there anything important that is missing, unclear, or misleading? If so, what?