Male Reproductive Tract Flashcards
Components of the male reproductive tract
- Penis
- Complicated series of tubes
- Accessory glands that contribute to semen
(prostate, seminal vesicles and bulbo-urethral glands)
What is cut in a vasectomy?
Vas deferens
What do seminal vesicles secrete?
Seminal fluid
What do bulbourethral glands secrete?
Mucous to lubricate
preejaculate to flush out the urethra
Why is zinc secreted from the bulbourethral glands?
Stabilises the chromatin in sperm cells
Sperm - stages of development
Spermatogonia A Spermatogonia B Spermatocyte I Spermatocyte II Spermatid Sperm
Structure of testes
Rete testis
Mediastinum
Tunica vaginalis
Septa
What does the rete testis do?
Carries sperm from seminiferous tubules to the efferent ducts
What is the mediastinum testees?
Network of fibrous connective tissues
Midlines of the testes
What is the tunica vaginalis?
Pouch of serous membrane that covers the testes
What is the septa?
Separates the tubules
What are the seminiferous tubules surrounded by?
Myoid cells
What do seminiferous tubules separate?
Sperm from the blood
What do Sertoli cells do?
Stop antibodies from destroying sperm
- provide nutritional and mechanical support to germ cells
- phagocytic
- secretory
What are Sertoli cell sensitive to?
FSH
Why do Leydig cells have lots of SER?
Produce testosterone with stimulation by LH from anterior pituitary
In females, what does LH stimulate?
Final stages of follicle maturation, corpus luteum formation and ovulation
What does ejaculate consist of?
Sialproteins from bulbourethral gland
Acid phosphatase from prostate
Sperm from testes
Fructose, high K+, prostaglandins from seminal vesicles
What is used as a marker for prostate cancer?
Acid phosphatase
How many enzymes does the acrosome consist of?
60
What occurs during capacitation?
Sperm travels through mucus which scrapes off glycoprotein coat and seminal proteins
What are some faults in sperm?
- Number
- Head shape
- Motility
- —> infertility
What are the two swimming patterns of sperm? How are they controlled?
1) Forward progressive
2) Hyperactivated
The amount of cholesterol in the membrane of the tail changes between states
