Reproductive Systems Flashcards
The primary sexual characteristic is males is…
The penis.
The primary sexual characteristic in females is…
The vagina.
What are some secondary sexual characteristics in males and what are they triggered by?
Some include chest hair, deeper voice, lack of breasts, etc. Triggered by testosterone.
What are some secondary sexual characteristics in females and what are they triggered by?
Higher voice, breast development, curvy build, etc. Triggered by estrogen.
What is testosterone?
A hormone from the Y-chromosome that triggers the primary sexual characteristic in a male fetus, and later triggers the secondary characteristics at puberty. Testosterone stimulates spermatogenesis.
What is spermatogenesis?
The production of sperm, how sperm cells are made through meiosis.
What is the main function of the testes?
They are the main organ for spermatogenesis. They descend before birth.
What is the epididymis?
It stores sperm cells and brings them to maturity by giving them caps and tails.
What is the function of the urethra in the male reproductive system?
It is the tube that carries the sperm out of the body.
What is the function of the vas deferens?
They are tubes that carry the sperm to the urethra.
How many sperm are released at once, and how many reach the egg? Why is this significant?
300-400 million, only 100 reach egg. Very low odds of reaching egg means high sperm production.
How many mL of semen is released at once? Per mL of semen, how many sperm are infertile due to deformities and such?
3-4 mL semen released at once, 10-20 million sperm per mL are infertile.
What are the seminiferous tubules?
They are inside the testes. They are the site of spermatogenesis. 500 m of tubule per human male.
What are the seminal vesicles?
They make semen.
What are the components of semen?
60% of it is alkaline, fructose, and prostaglandins. It contains sperm.
What is the function of the scrotum?
It is separated from the body to help keep the temperature of the testicles lower than body temperature.
What temperature do the testes need to be and why?
1-3 degrees Celsius lower than body temperature. This allows for the best production of sperm: Too hot, and sperm can be damaged.
What does erectile tissue do?
In early development, it is similar in both sexes. But later, it stimulates the erection of the penis in males or the vagina in females.
What is the function of the ovary? How many does each woman have?
The ovary is the site of oogenesis/where eggs are made. (Oogenesis starts before birth.) It is where meiosis happens to make gametes. Each woman has two ovaries.
What is the oviduct?
(Similar to vas deferens in males) The oviduct in females is a tube where eggs go when released from a follicle in the ovary. It is also the site of fertilization.
The oviduct is also called:
The fallopian tube.
What is clitoris?
It is erectile tissue in females. When sexual stimulation occurs, it fills with blood and causes the vagina to become erect.
After fertilization in the fallopian tubes, where does the egg go?
The uterus.
How long is each ovary?
3 cm.
Ovaries contain…
Follicles.
What is the function of the follicles in the ovary?
The follicles are where the eggs develop. Follicle cells form around the egg to prepare them to leave (provides nourishment, blood flow, etc.). When ready, follicle releases egg.
What is corpus luteum?
The follicle cells that surrounded the egg. They are recycled after egg is released.
About how big is the uterus?
Fist-sized.
How many layers make up the uterine wall?
2 layers.
What happens to each of the two layers of the uterine wall?
The one layer germinates, and the innermost layer is shed at the end of the menstrual cycle.
The innermost lining of the uterus is called?
The endometrium.
What is the job of the endometrium layer in the uterus?
It prepares for the fertilized egg, which will implant in it. If the egg is not fertilized, the lining is shed.
What is the cervix and what does it do?
The cervix is the lower most part of the uterus and is made up of strong muscles. It directs sperm into the uterus and it directs menstrual blood out of the uterus.
The cervix has a certain type of muscle. What is this muscle and what does it do?
It is a sphincter muscle, and the sphincter closes if fertilization happens.
What is the vagina?
The primary sexual characteristic in girls. It is rich in glycogen, and it has bacteria to decrease the pH in order to decrease the risk of pathogenic or yeast infection.
How does the vagina’s low pH affect sperm?
The sperm have prostaglandin to let them survive in the vagina’s low pH environment. They cannot survive very long and must reach oviduct to fertilize.
All fetuses develop in the presence of this hormone:
Estrogen.