Puberty Flashcards
what is puberty
the time in an animals life when it first reaches repro capability
when does puberty present in males
presence of libido and mature sperm cells
what is sexual maturity
the time in an animals life when it reaches max repro capability
what is the pattern of hormone release in the male prenatally (4 steps)
1- testosterone is produced by the fetal testis
2- passes the blood brain barrier
3- concerted to estrogen via aromatase
4- estrogen “defeminizes” the surge center of the hypothalamus in males
how does the pattern of GnRH release the same before and after puberty in males
GnRH is always released in a tonic pattern since the surge center was “defeminized”
what is the effect of GnRH release increase drastically after puberty in males
increase in testosterone
higher libido
spermatogenesis
how does the pattern of hormone release in the female determined prenatally
estrogen is produced by the fetal ovary
then estrogen is bound to alpha feto protein
estrogen does not pass the blood-brain barrier
as the result, the surge center develops in the female
how does the pattern of GnRH release deferent before puberty when compared to after puberty in females
before puberty GnRH is only released in a tonic pattern
after puberty GnRH is released in both tonic and surge pattern
what are non-pubertal estrus females
come into heat, but then wait for a few weeks until their next heat
what is pubertal estrus in females
in heat 1st time and then every 21 days thereafter
how does season influence the onset of puberty in ewes and mares
if puberty isnt achieved during the first season, the female will have to wait until the next season
females born out of season are old enough so that they will reach puberty in the first, full season
true/ false
males can hasten the onset of puberty in females
some females will reach puberty earlier when exposed to males
