male reproductive system Flashcards
Main functions of the male reproductive system
To produce, store and transport sperms and the protective nutritious fluid (semen)
To discharge sperm within the female reproductive tract
To produce and secrete male sex hormones
Penis (func.)
deliver sperms to vagina
Penis (features)
Contains erectile tissue that can fill with blood and cause an erection during sexual arousal
The head is covered by a foreskin, which can be surgically removed
Testes (plural) (func.)
makes testosterone (primary male sex hormone) and produces sperm
Testes (features)
Male gonads (primary reproductive organ) that are located outside the abdominal cavity in a sac called the scrotum
Spermatogenesis (def.)
process of producing male gametes (sperm)
Sperm (features)
Sperm are produced everyday throughout the human male’s lifetime
Sexual intercourse release hundreds of millions of sperms into the vagina but only a few thousand sperms survive long enough to meet the egg, and only one will fertilise it
Shape of the sperm is streamlined, which helps it swim through fluids in the vagina, uterus and oviduct
Scrotum (func.)
keeps the sperm-forming cells about 2°C cooler, which allows them to function normally
Why testicles are found outside the main body cavity (answering technique)
Sperms do not develop best at body temperature
Special muscles in the wall of the scrotum allow it to contract and relax, moving the testicles closer to the body for warmth and protection or farther away from the body to cool the temperature
Sperm duct (func.)
delivers sperm from epididymis to urethra, during ejaculation
Prostate gland (func.)
produces a fluid that nourishes the sperm and provides protection from the natural acidity of the vagina
Urethra (func.)
conveys, at different times, both sperm and urine out of the body, through the penis (When the penis is erect during sex, the flow of urine is blocked from the urethra, allowing only semen to be ejaculated)
