Session 1 - Gametogenesis Flashcards
Give three hormones released by the hypothalamus
Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH)
Prolactin Releasing Hormone (PRH)
Prolactin Inhibiting Hormone (PIH)
What is ST?
Seminiferous tubules
What is R?
The rete testis
What is DE?
Ductus efferentes
What is HBE?
Head, body & tail of the epididymus
What is V?
The vas deferens
What are the two main products of the testes?
Spermatazoa
Testosterone
What are the testis suspended by?
Spermatic cords
What is the surface of each testis covered by?
The visceral layer of the tunica vaginalis
What is the parietal layer of the tunica vaginalis attached to?
The internal spermatic fascia
What is the tough, fibrous outercoating of the testes called?
Tunica albuginea
Where does the tunica albunginea form a ridge?
On the posterior aspect of the testes, forming the medisastinum of the tesits
What is the main substance of the testes?
Seminiferous tubulues
What are the seminiferous tubulues joined to and how?
Rete testis by straight tubules
What cell type makes up the seminiferous tubules
Sertoli cells
What occurs in sertoli cells?
Spermatazoa development
What cell types make up the interstitium of the testes?
Leydig cells
What do leydig cells do?
Secrete testosterone
What do germ cells first colonise in the primordial gonad?
Sex cord
What three things do sex cords connect with?
Rete testis
Epididymis
Vas deferens
What do germ cells morph into?
Spermatogonia stem cells
How long do spermatogonia stem cells last?
Up to and beyond the age of 70, by self regeneration
What happens to the sex cords at puberty?
They hoolow out to form the seminiferous tubules
How many seminiferous tubules in each testes?
250 - 750
What marks the beginning of spermatogenesis?
The prouduction of distinct A1 spertogonia cells
What do A1 spermatogonia divide to prouduce?
More type A cells or type B cells (type B cells are commited to differntiation to spermatozoa
What happens to each type B spermatogonium produced?
Undergoes a fixed number of mitotic divisions ot produce a clone group (64, normally) of primary spermatocytes all linked together by cystoplasmic bridges
What happens to the chain of primary spermatocytes produced from type B spermatogonium in the sertoli cells?
Push towards the lumen of the seminiferous tubule and begins meiosis
Outline the series of divisions a type B clone (64) of primary spermatocytes undergoes when they reach the lumen of the seminiefrous tubule
Two divisions
First division produces two haploid secondary spermatocytes
Second division produces four spermatids in total
What is the maximum each A1 spertogonium can yield in terms of spermatids?
256
What happens to spermatids once they are formed?
Re-modelled to form sperm by spermiogenesis. Cytoplasmic bridge between them are broken down before they are released into the tubule lumen.
Where do spermatids get washed to, and how?
Rete testis by fluid produced from sertoli cells