Male Reproductive Physiology Flashcards
During childhood, which is secretion of which is higher FSH or LH?
FSH in female. Male do not start secretion until after puberty.
During puberty, pulsatile secretion of _ drive the pulsatile secretion of _ and _.
GnRH
FSH
LH
The earliest event in puberty is the appearance of large pulses of LH during _.
REM sleep. Large nocturnal pulses of LH.
Pulsatile secretion of FSH and LH stimulates the secretion of what other hormones?
Gonadal steroid hormones, testosterone, and estradiol
Whats responsible for the appearance of secondary sex characteristics at puberty?
Increased circulating levels of sex steroids like testosterone and estradiol.
Can puberty be initiated and reproductive function established if a GnRH analogue was to be administered in intermittent pulses?
Yes
True or false. A long-acting GnRH analogue will not initiate puberty.
True.
True or false: extreme stress or caloric deprivation in girls can cause an early onset of puberty
False. It delays it.
What acts as a natural inhibitor of GnRH release before puberty?
melatonin
What are the two main function of testes?
- Spermatogenesis
2. secretion of testosterone
What is the function of Scrotum?
Stores the testes away from the core of the body so that temp within the testes is 1-2 degrees below normal body temp.
Where is sperm matured and stored?
Epididymis
True or False. The vas deferens secretes fluid rich in citrate and fructose.
True.
What is the function of seminal vesicles?
Secretes fluid rich in citrate, fructose, prostaglandins, and fibrinogen
What is the function of prostate gland?
Secretes milky aqueous solution rich in citrate, calcium and enzymes.
Within what structure is sperm produced?
Seminiferous tubule.
What is the most immature male germ cells located near the periphery of the tubule.
Spermatogonia.
What is the male mature germ cells located near the lumen of the tubule.
Spermatozoa.
What makes up the bulk of the adult testis?
Seminiferous tubules
What are the function of sertoli cells?
- provide nutrients to the differentiating sperm
- From tight junctions with each other, creating a barrier between testes and blood
- secrete an aqueous fluid into the lumen of the seminiferous tubules (helps to transport sperm through the tubules into the epididymis)
What is the function of Leydig cells?
Synthesis and secretion of testosterone
what is the most active form of androgens?
dihydrotestosterone
In the testis what is the main steroidogenic cell?
Leydig cells.
What is the purpose of fetal leydig cells?
masculinizing the male urogenital tract and inducing testis descent.
what happens to the fetal Leydig cells after birth?
Atrophies soon after birth. Do not contribute to the adult Leydig cell population
when do the adult Leydig cells become active?
At puberty
Can Leydig cells synthesize cholesterol de novo?
yes
Cholesterol within the Leydig cells are stored as esters, how do they become free cholesterol when needed to make hormones?
Hormone sensitive lipase which is then transferred within the mitochondrial membrane via steroidogenic acute regulatory protien (StAR)
The testes cannot make glucocorticoids or mineralocorticoids becuase _
Testes lack 21 beta hydroxylase and 11-beta hydroxlase
Unlike in the adrenal gland, the end product of steroid synthesis in the testis is_
testosterone
Testosteorne is able to concentrate in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules by binding to _
androgen-binding protein (ABP)
testosterone is not active in all tissues, but mainly in prostate gland, external genitalia of the male fetus, skin, and liver. How does testosterone convert to it’s more active form dihydrotestosterone in the peripheral tissue?
5-a- reductase
Most of the circulating testosterone is bound to _
plasma protein (sex-hormone binding gobulin, SHBG) and albumin
True or false, estrogen is not produced in male.
False
It was proposed that estrogen in male seminiferous tubules may be produced by _ cells and mediated by the enzyme _ to convert testosterone to estradiol.
Sertoli cells
Aromatase