Reproductive Endocrinology II Flashcards
4 stages of sexual arousal
- excitement (psychogenic and/or somatogenic, individualised)
- plateau
- orgasm
- resolution
Male excitement
- heightened sexual awareness
- testicular vasocongestion
- engorgement of penis
Female excitement
- heightened sexual awareness
- vasodilation of vagina and external genitalia
- erection of clitoris
- lubrication of vagina
- enlargement of breasts
- flush to skin
Male plateau
- intensification of excitement
- increase HR, BP, resp rate, muscle tension
Female plateau
- as male
- vasodilation of lower 1/3 of vagina causing tightening around penis
- “tenting effect”
- uterus raises
- lifts cervix
- enlarges upper 1/2 of vagina to make room for ejaculate
Male orgasm
- intense physical pleasure
- ejaculation
- rhythmic contractions of pelvic muscles every 0.8 seconds
- increase HR, BP, resp rate, muscle tension
Female orgasm
- intense physical pleasure
- rhythmic contractions of pelvic muscles every 0.8 sec
- increase HR, BP, resp rate, muscle tension
- no ejaculation
- no refractory period so can have another orgasm immediately
Emission of ejaculation
- stimulation of mechanoreceptors in glands of penis
- synthetic response
- contraction of smooth muscle in Prostate -> prostatic fluid, reproductive ducts -> sperm, seminal vesicles -> s.v. fluid
- semen secreted into prostatic urethra
Expulsion of ejaculation
- motor neurone induced rhythmic contraction (0.8/sec) of skeletal muscle at base of penis
- semen forced out through urethra
How is male erection accomplished
engorgement of the penis erectile tissue with blood as a result of marked parasympathetically induced vasodilation of the penile arterioles and mechanical compression of the veins
Male resolution
- temporal refractory period
- relaxation
- return of body to pre excitement state
- slowing of blood flow to penis
Female resolution
- no refractory period
- relaxation
- return of body to pre excitement stage
Capacitation
- freshly ejaculated sperm are incapable of fertilisation and must undergo capacitation
- surface of sperm is altered by removal of glycoprotein coat
- tail movements become whip like
- cAMP levels rise to promote acrosomal reaction
Describe the process of fertilisation
1) sperm penetrates radiata via membrane-bound enzymes in plasma membrane of its head and binds to ZP3 receptors on the zona pellucida
2) binding of sperm to these receptors triggers acrosome reaction -> hydrolytic enzymes in acrosome are released onto the zona pellucida
3) acrosomal enzymes digest zona pellucida, creating pathway to plasma membrane of the ovum
4) sperm fuses and nucleus enters the ovum cytoplasm
5) sperm stimulates release of calcium stored in cortical granules in the ovum, which activates ZP3 receptors, leading to the block polyspermy
Penetration of egg by sperm
- Allurin -> released by mature ovum to attract sperm, sperm smell this chemical using olfactory receptor
- Fertilin binds to inregrin
- Acrosomal reaction
- Final meiotic division of secondary oocyte triggered
- sperm and egg nuclei fuse
Acrosomal reaction
- enzymes in the acrosomal tip allow a sperm to “burrow “ through the outer layers of ovum and enter cytoplasm
- block to polyspermy membrane changes triggered
- tail of sperm probably lost
Early stages of development from fertilisation to implantation
fertilised ovum progressively divides and differentiates into a blastocyst as it moves from site of fertilisation in upper oviduct to site of implantation in the uterus
Implantation 1
- initial contact with the epithelium of uterus -> blastocyst is sticky
- proteases released from trophoblast
- pathways created allowing trophoblast cells to grow into endometrium
- trophoblast releases nutrients for embryo