Gametogenesis Flashcards
What is fecundity?
The potential for reproduction
- Gamete production
- Fertilisation
- Carrying a pregnancy to term
What is fertility?
The measure of reproduction
- Number of children born per person, couple or population
What is fertility rate?
The number of births per time period per person, couple or population
What causes cessation of fecundity in males?
- Loss of libido
- Erectile dysfunction (due to diabetes or vascular pathology)
- Vascular pathology
What causes cessation of fecundity in females?
Menopause
What is the climacteric?
Period of life when fertility and sexual desire in women are in decline
What is amenorrhoea?
Lack of periods
Primary = no periods ever Secondary = periods stop
What causes menopause?
- Ovarian decline and failure
- Fewer oocytes of lower quality leads to chromosomal anomalies
- Follicular decline leads to hormone changes and secondary amenorrhoea
When does fecundity begin?
Puberty
Girls initiate puberty about 2 years earlier than boys
Average age of onset of puberty has been coming down, possibly due to artificial light
Where are the germ cells in the testis?
In seminiferous tubules
Where are the germ cells in the ovary?
In follicles
What are testicular germ cells called?
Spermatogonial stem cells
What are ovarian germ cells called?
Primordial oocytes
In what stage of differentiation are the testicular stem cells during fetal life?
Mitotic
In what stage of differentiation are the ovarian stem cells during fetal life?
Enter first meiotic division and arrest
How many testicular stem cells survive?
Most germ cells survive to adulthood
Large population of renewable cells remains at puberty
How many ovarian stem cells survive?
Most germ cells die at around the time of birth
Relatively few oocytes left by puberty
How many sperm are made per day?
30 million
What fluid are spermatozoa released in?
Testicular fluid
What fluid are oocytes released in?
Follicular fluid
What does inhibin do?
Inhibits FSH
In females, output rises pre-oocyte release and remains high after it
Produced by Sertoli cells and granulosa cells
What is the temperature in the testis?
4-7 degrees below body temperature
How does the testis maintain a lower temperature?
- Position outside the body
- Pampiform plexus cools arterial blood
- Divided into compartments
What is the role of the blood/testis barrier?
Testis is a privileged site
- Prevents penetration of tubular wall so that immune cells cannot gain access
- Prevents penetration from basal component and adluminal compartment
- Consequences of breakdown leads to autoallergic orchitis
What do Sertoli cells do?
Produce inhibin and testicular fluid
Where are the Leydig cells located?
Outside the tubules in the interstitium