Reproductive System - Male Flashcards
What is the male organ for sexual intercourse, reproduction and urination called?
Penis
What is the reproductive purpose of the penis?
To deposit semen in the vagina during sexual intercourse
What is the head of the penis called?
Glans
It has many nerve endings
What is the foreskin?
The loosely fitting skin at the end of the penis that covers the glans
What are seminiferous tubules?
The lightly coiled tubules within the testes that produce sperm
What is the process of sperm development called?
Spermatogenesis
What is the scrotum?
The sac-like pouch behind the penis that holds each testes.
It helps regulate temperature for sperm production.
What are testes?
small organs that lie in the scrotum and produce sperm and the male hormone testosterone.
What are the male sex glands?
The testicles
Why are the testicles outside the body?
The sperm that is manufactured by the testes needs cooler-than-body temperature for normal growth and development.
How much sperm is produced each month?
4 to 5 million sperm cells.
What is testosterone?
The male reproductive hormone made by the testicles which causes the changes of puberty
Causes secondary sex characteristics, production of sperm and sexual urge
It enters the bloodstream at a fairly constant rate
What is sperm?
microscopic cells produced by the testicles which can fertilize the female’s ovum
the smallest cell in a man’s body
destroyed by a warm body temperature and an acidic environment
can survive in a woman’s body for up to 48 hours
sperm not ejaculated is passed in the urine
What is seminal fluid?
produced by 3 accessory organs
- Cowpers glands (<1%) aka the bulbourethral gland
- Seminal vesicles (65-75%)
- Prostate Gland (25-30%)
What is the epididymis?
The structure that forms a mass over the back and upper part of each testes
- Sperm are stored there for as long as six weeks while they ripen to maturity and develop swimming ability.
What at the Cowper’s Gland?
two small pea-sized glands located beneath the prostate gland on both sides of the base of the penis
They secrete a clear, sticky fluid that helps to neutralize the acidity of the urethra
What are the seminal vesicles?
two small glands that secrete a fluid that nourishes and enables the sperm to move
fluid contains fructose (energy), Potassium/phosphorus (motility), and Prostaglandins (affect female reproductive system to aid sperm in travelling from the vagina to the uterine cavity)
What are the vas Deferens?
two long, thin tubes that serve as a passageway for sperm and a place for sperm storage
The contraction of the vas deferens along with the action of the cilia help transport the sperm through the vas deferens
What is the prostate gland?
It surrounds the urethra beneath the bladder.
It secretes an alkaline fluid that neutralizes the acid found in the male urethra and the female reproductive tract
What is the urethra?
a dual purpose tube that both semen and urine pass through to leave the body (semen and urine never mix)
It has special muscles or sphincters that surround it
during urination - 1 sphincter will relax so that the pressure of the bladder will push urine out from the body
during ejaculation - another sphincter will relax so that semen can flow out from the body
What is the optimal temperature for sperm production?
34 C
What hormone promotes spermatogenesis?
FSH - follicle stimulating hormone
from the pituitary gland
What are interstitial cells?
cells between the seminiferous tubules
They produce testosterone
Which hormone promotes the production of testosterone?
LH - lutenizing hormone
from the pituitary gland
