Sci

• The role of hormones involved in the female and male reproductive systems is explained in the third grading period of Reproductive System Science.
• Organisms reproduce to perpetuate their kind, either sexually or asexually.
• In complex animals, reproduction is carried out through sexual means, involving the union of gametes.
• The male gametes are relatively smaller while the female gametes are comparatively larger.
• Male gametes are motile or they are able to move with the help of flagellum, while female gametes are non-motile.
• Male gametes are greater in number, about millions are released in each ejaculation, but in female, only one egg is released during ovulation.
• In males, gametes are called spermatozoa or sperm cells.
• In females, gametes are called ova or egg cells.
• Both female and male reproductive systems have primary and accessory reproductive organs.
• The primary organs in the female and male reproductive systems are involved in the production of sex cells and the manufacture of hormones.
• The accessory organs in the female and male reproductive systems, including the series of ducts that transport the sex cells, are responsible for nourishing and transporting sex cells to the different parts of the reproductive system.
• The external and internal parts of the male and female reproductive systems differ in size and shape, as well as its function.
• The functions of the male reproductive system include the production of male reproductive cells (spermatozoa), the transfer of sperm to the female reproductive tract during intercourse, and the production of hormones responsible in the production of testosterone (male hormones) at the Leydig cells.
• Testosterone develops the secondary sex characteristics of males.
• The scrotum is a sac of skin that hangs outside the abdominopelvic cavity containing paired testicles.
• The functions of the scrotum include the storage of sperm and the regulation of temperature.
• Only 2 million remain at the time of birth and by puberty, only 400,000 remain.
• The functions of the female reproductive system include producing sex cells in the form of ova or egg cells in the process of oogenesis.
• The female reproductive system also has a copulation function from which they receive sperm cells from males during sexual intercourse.
• The female reproductive system provides sites for egg fertilization, implantation and support and development of embryo.
• Sperm can be stored for 1-8 hours to 10 days in the male reproductive tract before losing their ability to fertilize an egg.
• Only one oocyte is ovulated each 28-day cycle.
• In terms of survival, sperm can live 24-72 hours after ejaculation into the female.
• Most primary oocytes undergo a process of degeneration called atresia.
• The female reproductive system produces hormones such as progesterone and estrogen which play important roles in the ovarian and uterine cycles among females.
• Unlike males, who are able to produce sperm cells throughout their reproductive lives, females produce a finite number of egg cells.
• Oogenesis is completed until stimulated by sperm.
• The semen has the following characteristics:
• 60% of sperm exhibit forward motility.
• Like in the male reproductive system, the female reproductive system also undergoes general physical changes as they reach puberty and adolescence stages.
• During early fetal development, sex cells migrate into ovaries and differentiate into oogonia.
• The epididymis is a site of sperm maturation and storage, where sperm takes 20 days to travel through it and can store sperms for several months.
• The scrotum regulates temperature through its dartos and cremaster muscles, giving it its wrinkled appearances and allowing it to contract and relax, moving the testicles closer and farther to the body for warmth and protection.
• The seminiferous tubules converge and unite to form the rete testis and give rise to several ducts which open into the epididymis.
• The parts of the testes that perform its functions include the seminiferous tubules, which contain the spermatogonia that will mature into sperm and interstitial cells (Leydig cells) which produce hormones.
• Spermatozoa, the mature sperm cells, contain a compact nucleus with the genetic material and an acrosome, a small protrusion at the anterior end which contains enzymes that help it penetrate the egg’s membrane.
• The prostate gland is a chestnut-shaped structure that encircles the urethra inferior to the bladder, secreting thin and milky fluid through a series of ducts.
• The sperm count is roughly 50 to 130 million/ml (or an average of 66 million/ml (180 million total)) in terms of morphology, with 35% being abnormal.
• The functions of the scrotum include regulating temperature, with the testes kept 3 o C lower than core temperature needed for sperm production.
• Penis encloses the urethra and is the male sexual organ for sexual intercourse, composed of spongy tissue with blood spaces.