Male Reproductive Anatomy Flashcards
Where is sperm stored?
In the tail of the epididymis.
What provides metabolic substrate to the sperm?
Accessory sex glands
What are the 4 accessory sex glands?
Ampullae
Vesicular glands
Prostate gland
Bulbourethral glands
What accessory sex gland is missing in the boar?
Ampullae
What 2 accessory sex glands are missing from the tom?
Ampullae and vesicular gland
What accessory sex glands are present in the dog?
Just a prostate
How is the temperature in the testis controlled?
Veins and arteries passing in close proximity in the pampiniform plexus allows heat exchange from the arteries to the cooler veins.
What does the spermatic cord contain?
Vasculature, lymphatics and neural connections and the cremaster muscle.
What 3 things occur in the excurrent duct system?
Final maturation of sperm
Storage
Delivery to pelvic urethra
What 3 structures comprise the excurrent duct system?
Efferent ducts
Epididymal duct
Ductus deferens
What is the seminal plasma?
Liquid, non-cellular portion of semen
What produces the seminal plasma?
The epididymus and the accessory sex glands
What are 2 major qualities of a fibroelastic penis?
Limited erectile tissue
Sigmoid flexure
What is the major characteristic of a musculovascular penis?
Large corporal sinusoids
What 3 species have a fibroelastic penis?
Bulls
Boars
Rams
What 3 species have a musculovascular penis?
Stallions
Dogs
Men
What is unique about a boar’s penis?
It’s corkescrew
What is unique about a ram and stallion penis?
The urethral process
What is unique about a dog’s penis?
The os penis
What special feature does an alpaca penis have?
The cartilagenous process
What does a cat penis have that no other species has?
Penile spines
What are 3 endocrine requirements for spermatogenesis?
Enough GnRH
FSH and LH secretion from the anterior pituitary
Testosterone and estrogen
What do the Leydig cells do (2 things)?
Have LH receptors
Produce progesterone/testosterone
What do the Sertoli cells do (3 things)?
Have FSH receptors
Convert testosterone to estradiol
Produce inhibin
What does LH do?
Stimulates Leydig cells to produce testosterone
What does FSH do?
Stimulates Sertoli cells to begin spermatogenesis and convert testosterone to estradiol
What systemic effect does testosterone have?
Negative feedback for GnRH (prolongs LH secretion)
What does inhibin do?
Supresses FSH receptors on Sertoli cells
What are the 4 stages of spermatogenesis?
Spermatogonia
Primary Spermatophytes
Secondary Spermatophytes
Spermatids
Where does spermatogensis take place?
In the seminiferous tubules
How many spermatids can one spermatogonia produce?
Up to 256
What is the differentiation phase?
When spermiogenesis occurs.
What happens in the golgi phase?
Acrosomic vesicle formation
What happens during the cap phase?
Acrosomic vesicle spreads over the nucleus
What happens during the acrosomal phase?
Elongation of the nucleus and cytoplasm.
What occurs during the maturation phase?
Final assembly to form a spermatozoon.
What are the 4 parts that make up the differentiation phase?
Golgi Phase
Cap Phase
Acrosomal Phase
Maturation Phase
What 3 things are in the head of a spermatozoa?
Nucleus
Acrosome
Postnuclear cap
What 3 pieces make up the tail of a sperm?
Middle piece
Principal piece
Terminal piece
Which piece of the tail contains the mitochondria?
The middle piece
What is the duration of spermatogenesis of a bull?
61 days
What is the duration of spermatogenesis of a ram?
47 days
What is the duration of spermatogenesis of a boar?
39 days
What is the duration of spermatogenesis of a stallion?
55 days
What 3 hormones are released in pulses every few hours?
GnRH
LH
Testosterone
What hormone is released in a pulse with a longer duration?
FSH
