Unit Two: Reproductive System Flashcards
What are the gonads?
The reproductive organs that produce gametes and hormones.
What are the gametes of males and of females?
- Testes. 2. Ovaries.
What is the function of the testes?
To produce the male gametes.
What is the inguinal canal?
A passageway through the abdominal musculature. The narrow canals linking the scrotal chambers with the peritoneal cavity.
What does each spermatic cord consist of?
Layers of fascia and muscle enclosing the ductus deferens and the blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels that supply the testes.
Why are inguinal hernias common in males?
Because the inguinal canals create weak spots in the abdominal walls that remain throughout life.
Why are inguinal hernias not as common in females?
Because the inguinal canals are very small containing only the ilio-inguinal nerves and the round ligaments of the uterus. Thus, the abdominal wall is nearly intact.
What is the raphe of the scrotum?
A raised thickening in the scrotal surface that separates the scrotum in two.
What does each testis occupy?
Its own scrotal cavity.
What is the tunica vaginalis? What is the function?
A serous membrane, lines the scrotal cavity and reduces friction between the opposing parietal (outer) layer and visceral (inner) layer.
What are the two layers of muscles in the scrotum?
- Dartos. 2. Cremaster.
What does the scrotum consist of? (2)
- Thin layer of skin. 2. The underlying superficial fascial.
What is the function of the dartos muscle?
Resting muscle tone in the dartos muscle elevates the testes and causes wrinkling of the scrotal surface.
What is the function of the cremaster muscle?
Contraction of the cremaster, controlled by the cremasteric reflex, tenses the scrotum and pulls the testes closer to the body.
When does contraction of the cremaster muscle occur?
Contraction occurs during sexual arousal and in response to temperature changes.
What muscle regulates the temperature of the testes and how?
The cremaster muscle. It contracts to pull testes closer to increase temperature and relaxes to move testes away from the body to reduce temperature.
What supplies the blood of the scrotum? (3)
- Internal pudendal arteries. 2. External pudendal arteries. 3. Inferior epigastric arteries.
What is the tunica albuginea?
A dense layer of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds the testis and is covered by the tunica vaginalis.
What is the function of the mediastium of the testes?
It supports the blood vessels and lymphatics supplying the testis and the ducts that collect and transport sperm into the epididymis.
What are the septa testis?
Fibrous partitions formed by the collagen fibers of the tunica albuginea, which converge toward the mediastinum of the testis.
What do the septa testis partition the testis into?
Compartments called lobules.
What are distributes among the lobules?
Tightly coiled seminiferous tubules.
What occurs within the seminiferous tubules?
Sperm production.
What is each seminiferous tubule connected to?
A single straight tubule that enters the mediastium of the testes.