LECTURENOTEONPHS371(

REPRODUCTI
ON)

The purpose ofr eproduction i

sf orthe producti
on ofof f
spring and the
cont
inui
tyoft hehumanr ace.Themalereproducti
vesy stem consi stsofapai r
ofgonads( t
estes)
,internalgenit
ali
a(geni
talductsandaccessor ygl ands)and
ext
ernalgenit
ali
a(penisandscr otum.Thef emalereproduct i
vesy stem consist
oftwogonads( ov
aries),int
ernalgeni
tal
ia(fal
lopi
ant ube,ut erusandv agi
na),
ext
ernalgenit
ali
a(lowerpar tofthevagi
na,labi
aandcl i
toris)andt hebr east
.

Thegonadsdev elop/ori
ginat efrom thegeni t
alr i
dgewhi chhasacor texanda
medul la.Inmal es,att hesi xt
hweekofembr yonicdev elopment ,thecor tex
regressesandt hemedul l
adev elopintoat estesandv ice-versai nfemales.The
i
nternalgeni taliai n mal es and f emal e dev elop f rom t he Wol ffi
an or
mesonepher icductandt hemul leri
anductr espect i
v ely.I nmal es,bythe9th
week,t he intersti
ti
alcel ls of Ley dig appear s and begi ns to secr ete
test
ost eronewhi chi nducest hewol ffi
anductt odifferent iat
ei ntothemal e
i
nternalgeni tali
a.Li kewi se does t he ser tol
icel ls secr etet he mul l
erian
regressionfactorwhi chi nducesr egr
essionoft hemul l
er i
anduct .I
nf emales,
i
nt heabsenceoft estoster oneandmul l
er i
anr egressionf actor,themul l
erian
ductf urt
herdev el
opsi ntot hefemal eint
ernal genital
ia.

Theexternalgeni
tal
iadevel
opbytheni
nthweekfrom t
heurogenitalsi
nus,
th
geni
taltubercl
e,geni
talswel
li
ngandur
ethr
alfol
dsduri
ngthe9 weekof
embryonicdevel
opment.
MEI
OSI
S

Thisisaspecialtypeofcelldivisi
onthatreducest hechromosomenumberby
half
,creati
ngf ourhaploi
dcells,eachgenet i
call
ydi st
inctfrom theparentcel
l
thatgaver i
set othem.Itoccursdur i
nggamet ogenesi s(formati
onofmat ure
gametes-spermatozoa or ov a), sexual
ly reproducing si ngl
e-cel
l
ed and
multi
cell
ulareukaryot
es,i
ncludinganimals,pl
ants,andf ungi.

Meiosi
sconsi
stoftwost agesofcell
ulardi
vi
si
on:Mei
osi
s1(
fi
rstmei
oti
c
di
vi
sion)Mei
osi
s2(Seconddivi
sion)

Meiosi
s1:Thisissometi
mesreferr
edtoast hereducti
ondiv
isi
onbecauseitis
duri
ngt hefi
rstmeiot
icdiv
isi
ont hatthechr omosomenumberi sreduced.
Meiosi
sIconsistoffourstages:prophaseI,met aphaseI
,anaphaseI,and
tel
ophaseI.

ProphaseI:Theprophasestageofmei
osi
sIi
srel
ati
vel
ylongandcanbe
subdiv
idedi
ntof
ivestages.

–Lept
otene:
Thechr
omosomesbecomev
isi
bleast
heyst
artt
ocondense.

–Zygot
ene:Homologouschromosomesali
gndirectl
yopposi
teeachot
herand
ar
eheldtoget
heratsever
alpoi
ntsal
ongthei
rlength.

–Pachy
tene:
Eachpai
rofhomol
ogouschr
omosomesbecomest
ight
lycoi
l
ed.

– Dipl
otene:The homologous r
ecombinantchr
omosomes now begi
nt o
separ
atebutremai
nattachedatt
hepoint
swherecrossi
ngov
erhasoccur
red.

–Diaki
nesi
s:Separ
ati
onoft
hehomologouschromosomepai
rspr
oceedsas
t
hechromosomesbecomemaxi
mal
lycondensed.

Metaphase I:The nucl

earmembr ane di
sappears and t
he chromosomes
becomealignedontheequator
ialplaneofthecellwher
et heyhavebecome
att
achedtothespi
ndleasinmetaphaseofmitosi
s.

AnaphaseI:Thechromosomesnowsepar
atet
oopposi
tepol
esoft
hecel
las
thespi
ndlecont
ract
s.

Tel
ophaseI:Eachsetofhapl
oidchr
omosomeshasnowsepar
atedcomplet
ely
toopposi
teendsofthecel
lwhichcl
eav
esint
otwonewdaught
ergametes.
MeiosisI I
: Thi
si sessent i
all
ysi mil
artoanor di
narymi t
oti
cdivisi
on.Each
chromosome, whichexi st
sasapai rofchromat
ids,becomesali
gnedalongthe
centr
eoft hecel
landt henspli
tsleadi
ngtotheformationoftwonewdaught er
gamet es,known as sper matids orov a.Each daughtercellreceiv
es 23
chromat i
dsandcont ainshalftheamountofDNAofanor malsomaticcel
l
.I n
females,eachresultingmat ur
eoocy tehas22+1Xchr omosomeand22+1Y
chromosomei nmal es.

PUBERTY

Pubert yist heprocessofphy si

calchangesthroughwhichachild'
sbody
mat ures into an adul t body capable of sexualrepr
oduct
ion.OR t he
physiologicaltr
ansiti
onf rom childhood t
oreproduct
ivematur
it
y.Itoccurs
betweent heagesof8- 14yearsinboy sandbetweenages11and16y earsin
gir
ls.I tisassociated witht heappearanceofgr owthspur
ts,pri
maryand
secondar ysexualcharacteri
sti
cs.

Endocr i
neCont rolofPuber t
y/OnsetofPuber t
y :Int hef emal e,asint hemal e,
the i nfant il
e pi t
uitary gland and ov ari
es are capabl e off ullfunct i
on i f
appr opr iately stimul ated.Howev er,t he hypothal amus does notsecr ete
significantquant i
ti
esofGnRHdur i
ngchi l
dhoodandt her easonf orthisisnot
full
yunder st
ood.Ex peri
ment shav eshownt hatt hehy pothalamusi tselfis
capabl eofsecr eti
ngt hi
shormone, buttheappr opriatesi gnalfrom someot her
areaofbr aintocauset hesecr et
ioni slacki
ng.Ther ef ore,itisnow bel ieved
thatt heonsetofpuber tyisinit
iat
edbysomemat urationpr ocesst hatoccur s
elsewher ei nthe br ain,perhaps somewher ei nt he l i
mbi c system.Some
l
iteratur eshav ehowev ersuggest edt hathyposecr etionofGnRH f rom t he
hypot hal amuspr i
ort opuber t
ymaybeduet ohor monalf eedbackmechani sm
coupl edwi thneur al suppressionmechani sms.

Pubertyisprecededbyadr enarche,mar ki
ngani ncreaseofadrenalandrogen
(DHEAandDHEAS)pr oduct i
onbet weenages6–10.Adr enar
cheissomet i
mes
accompani edbyt heear l
yappear anceofaxi l
laryandpubi chair.Thef ir
st
androgenichairresul
ti
ngf rom adrenarchecanbeal sot r
ansi
entanddisappear
beforetheonsetoft ruepuber ty.Theonsetofpuber tyi
sassociat
edwi t
ht he
acti
vati
on of t he hy pothal
amus- pi
tuitar
y-gonadalaxi s and subsequent l
y
manifested as a mar ked increase in pulsatil
e GnRH r elease fr
om t he
hypothal
amus( The arcuate nucleusi nt he medi albasalhy pot
halamusi s
wher ethe“hy
pothalami
cpul segener
ator
”r esides)
,whi
chisf oll
owedbyt he
ri
sei n sexhormones,LH and FSH.Thesehor monesint urn br
ing about
profoundbiol
ogi
cal,physi
ologi
cal
,morphologicalandpsychologi
calchanges
thataccompanypuberty
.

Phy siologi calchangesi nmal esatpuber ty:Mani f

est ati
onofSecondar ysexual
Char act eristics.
•Gr owt hoft estis(increasei ndi amet erandv olume) ,atest i
cularv ol
umeof4
mloral ongi t
udinaldi amet ergr eatert hanorequalt o2. 5cm andasl i
ght
progr essiv ei ncreasei nscr otalf ol dsar ethef ir
stsi gnofpuber ty.Theincrease
i
nt esticularsi zeobser v eddur ingpr epuber t
yandpuber tyr esult
sessent i
ally
from t hedev el
opmentoft hesemi ni
feroust ubul esundert hest i
mulati
ngef f
ect
ofFSH.
•Pigment at i
onoft het est isandi ncreasei nsi zeoft hepeni s.
•Pr esenceofpubi chai r,appear anceofaxi l
laryhai rusual lyoccursi nmi d
puber ty .
 deepeni ngoft hev oi ce
•Accel erationofgr owthbegi nsaf terpuber ty.
•Long- standi ngpul satil
eLHsecr eti
oni nducest hedi ffer
ent iati
onofi nter
sti
tial
cellsi ntot estosterone-secr etingLey di gcells,whi ch,i ntur n,exer tanegat i
ve
feedbackcont rolonLHsecr etion.Aspuber typr ogr esses,sper matogenesisis
i
ni t
iatedandt hensust ainedbyFSH andbyt estost er
onepr oducedbyt he
Ley digcel lsunderLHcont rol.

Phy siologicalchangesi nf emal esatpuber t

y :Thedev elopmentofaf emal e
chi l
di ntoanadul twomani sacompl expr ocess.Puber ty,andt hehor mones
thatf uelt hephy sicalandpsy chol ogicalchangeswhi char ei t
shal l
mar ks,is
gener allyv iewedasar oughandof tenunpr edictablest or m.Dur i
ngpuber ty
therei sasi gni f
icanti ncreasei nt her esponsiv enessoft hepi tuit
ar ytoGnRH,
duet or egul ationi nt hegonadot roper ecept orsandi ncreasedsy nthesisof
gonadot ropins.Subsequent ly,LHsecr eti
onpeakampl i
tudei ncreasesandwi ll
ev entuallybe20–40f oldgreat ert hanl evelsseeni nthepr epuber t
alst ate.LH
bioact iv
ityt hen i ncr easesduet o changesi n glycosy l
ation.FSH secr etion
i
ncr easesonl ytwot ot hreefold,andi shel dincheckbyt henegat i
vef eedback
atbot ht hehy pot halamusandpi tuitaryfrom ther isi
ngest r
adi ollevelscomi ng
from t heov ari
es.I nadditiont ot hekeyef f
ectsofGnRHpul sepat ternandt he
gonadalst eroids, othersubst ances, suchasi nhibinAandB, activi
n, f
olli
statin,
andcy t
oki nes,al lhav eanef fectonmodul at i
nggonadot ropinact ivit
yand
creatingt heposi tiveandnegat i
v ef eedbacksy stemsessent i
altoamat ure
repr
oducti
veneur
oendocri
neaxi
s.
Physi
call
y,f
emalepuber
tyismarkedby
:

 Br
eastbuddi
ng(
thel
arche)
.

 Onsetofpubi chair( pubar che) :Thesubsequenti ncr easesi nci rculating

DHEA- sul f
ate( DHEA- S)andDHEAsi gnalt heonsetofadr enar che,whi ch
alongwi thot heradr enalandr ogensi snecessar yf ort hedev elopmentof
pubi candaxi ll
aryhai r
,al soknownasPubar che.Ther isei nadr enal
andr ogensal sost i
mul at esthedev elopmentoft hepi lo-sebaceousuni tin
theski n, madeupofahai rfollicleandassoci atedoi lgl andandi ncreases
cortical bonedensi ty.
 Maxi malgr owthv elocity:Gi rls’peakhei ghtv el ocitygener allyoccur s
betweent heagesof9and14,andav erages9. 0cm/ year,compar edt o
10.3f orboy s.Skeletalpr opor tionsal sochange, ast heext remi t
iesr apidl y
i
ncr easei nlengthwhi l
et hev ert ebralcol umni ssl owert ogr ow.Ul t
imat ely,
thepr ocessofpuber tywi l
lwor kt ol imi tadul thei ght ,ast hegonadal
steroidsathi ghlevelsl eadt oepi physeal closureoft hel ongbones.
 Menar che:Themostdr amat i
candsoci allysignificantev entofpuber tyi s
the r esul tofsust ained l ev els ofest rogen l eadi ng t o endomet rial
stimul ation and ev ent ualsheddi ng.Dur ing pober t y,est radi oll evel s
fl
uct uat e si gnif
icant l
y,r eflect i
ng successi ve st ages of f oll
icular
dev elopmentt hatf ailst or eacht heov ulatoryst age.Theendomet r
ium
alsounder goescy clesofpr oliferat i
onandr egressi onunt i
lapoi ntwher e
withdr awalofest r
ogenoccur s( eit
herduet opeakLH andFSH l evel s
necessar yf ornegat i
v ef eedbackcont rolbecauseast heov ariesmat ur e,
theybecomemor eadeptatr espondi ngt oandampl ifyingcent ralsignal s,
andr eleasemor est eroidhor monesf oragi venamountofgonadot ropi n.
Whenest r
adiolandi nhibi nBl ev elsbecomehi ghenought oexer tnegat iv e
feedbackongonadot ropi nsecr eti
on) ,whi chresul tsi nt hef i
rstmenst rual
bleed( Menar che).
Gonadotr
opi
nlevelsoverthelif
espan.(
Adaptedfrom EmansSJ,LauferMR,Gol
dst
einDP.ThePhy
siol
ogyofPuber
ty.
Pedi
atr
icandAdolescentGynecol
ogy
.5ed.Li
ppincottWi
ll
i
ams&Wi l
kins;2005)
.

 Developmentofaxi
ll
aryhai
r
 Att
ainmentoftheadultbr
eastt
ype
 Adultpubi
chairpat
tern

MALEREPRODUCTI VESYSTEM
I
tiscomposedoft hepr i
marysexor ganandaccessor ysexor gan.
Accessor ysexor gans:
1.Semi nalv esicles:theyar esit
uatedonei thersi deoft hepr ost ategl and.
Secr eti
onsoft hesemi nalvesiclesar eempt iedint otheampul l
aoft he
vasdef erens.Theampul l
aoft hev asdef erenscont inuesasej aculatory
ductwhi chpassest hr
oughthepr ostat
etof or mi nternaluret hra.Mucoi d
mat erialcont aining an abundanceoff ruct ose,ci tri
caci d,and ot her
nutrientsubst ances,aswel lasl argequant itiesofpr ostaglandi nsand
fi
brinogen.
Prost aglandins ar e beli
eved to ai df er
ti
li
zat i
on int wo way s:( 1)by
react i
ngwi ththef emalecervicalmucust omakei tmor er ecept i
v et o
sper m mov ementand ( 2)by possi bl
y causi ng backwar d,r ev erse
peristalti
ccont racti
onsint heut er
usandf allopiant ubest omov et he
ejaculatedsper mt owardtheov aries
2.Pr ost ategland: Formedbymanysecr etor
ygl ands.Secr et
ionsf r om these
glands ar e empt i
ed int
ot he i nternaluret hr at hrough t he ut ri
cul us
 prost aticus.Thepr ost ategl andsecr et esat hin,mi lkyf luidt hatcont ai
ns
cal cium, ci trate i on, phosphat e i on, a cl otti
ng enzy me, and a
prof ibri
nol ysin.Asl ight l
yal kalinechar act eristicoft hepr ost at i
cf l
uidmay
bequi tei mpor tantf orsuccessf ulf er ti
lizationoft heov um,becausei t
hel ps t o neut ral i
ze t he aci dity oft he ot hersemi nalf luids dur i
ng
ejacul ationaswel last hev agi nalaci dicsecr etionsandt hus,enhances
themot il
ityandf ertil
it
yoft hesper m.Cl otti
ngenzy mescausef i
brinogen
from t hesemi nalf l
uidt of orm weakf ibrincoagul um t hathol dst he
semeni nt hedeeperr egionoft hev agi na.Thecoagul um t hendi ssol ves
dur ingt henext15- 30mi nbecauseoft hel ysi sbyf ibrinol ysinf rom t he
prost rate.
3.Ur ethra:I thast wopar ts,namel y :i
nt er nalandext ernalur et hra.Int ernal
uret hrai st hecont inuat ionofej acul ator yduct .Internalur et hrapasses
throught hepeni sast heext er nalur et hr a.Ur et hracont ainsmucusgl and
throughouti tslengt h.
4.Bul bour ethr algland( Cowper ’sgl ands) : Thebi lateral bulbour ethral glands
alsoopensi ntot heur ethr a.I
tsecr etesmucus.
5.Peni s:Thi si st hemal egeni talor gan.Ur ethrapassest hrought hepeni s
and openst ot he ext erior.Peni si sf or med byt hree er ect i
l
et i
ssue
masses: apai redcor por acav enosaandanunpai redcor pusspongi osum.
Thecor pusspongi osum sur roundst heur ethraandt ermi nat esdi st all
yt o
for mt hegl anspeni s.
DIAGRAM OFTHEMALEREPRODUCTI VESYSTEM
 Pri
mar ysexor gan( Test
is):
Thet estesist hepr imarysexor ganorgonadi nmal es.Therearet woi n
numbersepar atedbyami dli
neseptum.Theybot hli
eint hescrot
alcavit
yand
theirpr i
maryf unction is sper
m pr oducti
on (by the germ cells oft he
seminiferoust ubules),andhor monepr oducti
on(byt hei nt
erst
it
ialcell
sor
Leydigcells)
.

Thetest
escontai
nsabout900coi
ledsemi
nif
eroustubul
esthatcont
inuesas
thev
asdeff
erencewhi
chfurt
heropensupi
ntotheepidi
dymi
sasshowni nthe
di
agr
am abov
e.

Thetest
isishousedinthescr
otalcavi
tywhichisfor
medbyt hescr
otum.The
scr
otum hangsoutsi
detheabdominopelv
iccavit
yattherootoft
hepenisand
ser
vesasapr ot
ecti
vecover
ingforthet
estes.Thescr
otum i
scomposedofthe
fol
l
owinglayer
s:

An outerski
nlayer,Dartusmusclel ayer( smooth musclelayerthat
wr
inkl
es/
foldsthescr
otalskin)
,Super
fi
cialscrotalfasci
a,Layerofcremaster
muscl
e(Composedofskeletalmuscl
esthatelevatesthetest
es.

Theexternalposit
ioni
ngofthescrot
um keepst het es20Cl
est owerthancore
bodytemper at
ureneededforsper
m product
ion.Thi
stemperat
uredi
ff
erenceis
keptconstantbythecontr
olledmovementactionofthedar
tusandcremaster
muscle.

Funct
ional
str
uct
uresoft
het
est
es:

1.Seminf
eroust
ubules:Eacht esti
shasabout200-300lobul
es,eachl
obul
es
contai
nsabout1-4coil
edt ubulesknownassemi nifer
oustubul
es.Gi
vinga
tot
alofabout400-600STpert esti
s.Thewal
loftheSTi sfor
medbyt hr
ee
l
ayers:

 Anout ercapsul
eoft
urni
capr
opi
a,f
ormedbyf
ibr
o-el
ast
icconnect
ive
ti
ssues.

 At
hinbasementmembr
ane.

 Acomplexstrat
if
iedepi
theli
um al
soknownast
heger
minalepi
thel
i
um.
Thi
slay
eriscomposedoft woty
pesofcel
ls:

a.Ger m cel lor sper

matogeni
c cel
ls:these are precur
sor cel
ls of
spermatozoa.Theyar earr
anged i
nanor derl
ymannerand occupyt he
spacesbetweent hebasementmembraneandl umenoft heST.thegerm
cel
ls pr ol
ifer
ates into mature sperm cel l
s ( spermatozoa) via
spermatogenesis.

b.Sert
oliCell
s(Suppor
tingcel
l
s):Al
soknownast
hesust
ent
acul
arcel
l
s.
Thei
rfunct
ionsincl
ude:

 Suppor
tand pr
ovi
de nut
ri
ent
s(gl
ycogen) t
othe di
ff
erent
iat
ing
 sper
mat
ogeni
ccel
l
sti
l
ltheyar
erel
eased.

 Theyformtightj
uncti
onswitheachot her,therebyfor
mingtheblood
test
esbarri
erwhichhasasel ecti
veper meabi l
ity
.Forexample,i
tis
permeabl
etonut ri
ent
s,waterandt estosteronebutimpermeableto
noxi
oussubstancesandcyt
otoxins.

 Thebloodtest
esbar r
ieral
sopr
event
ssper
m ant
igensfr
om escapi
ng
thr
ough the basall ami
na i
nto t
he bl
ood,t her
eby pr
eventi
ng
autoi
mmuner eact
ion.

 Secr
etessubst
ancest
hati
nit
iat
esmei
osi
s.

 Secr
etesaqueousfl
uid(t
esti
cul
arf
lui
d)i
ntot
helumenwhichhel
ps
forsuppor
tand tr
ansportofsper
m thr
oughthetubul
esint
othe
epi
didymi
s.

 Pr
ovi
desmechani
cal
suppor
tfordev
elopi
ngsper
m cel
l
s

 Secr
etesandrogenbi
ndi
ngprotei
nwhichconcent
rat
est
est
ost
erone
i
ncloseproxi
mityt
othedev
elopi
ngsperm cel
l
.

 Producechemicalmedi
ator
sorhor
monest
hathel
pst
oregul
ate
spermat
ogenesi
s.

 Responsi
blef
orthePhagocytosi
sofr
esi
dual
/excesscy
topl
asmi
clef
t
overfr
om dev
elopi
ngsperm cell
s.

 Secretes Muller
ian regressi
on fact
or i
nfetaltest
es,which is
responsi
blef ort he r
egressi
on ofthe mul
l
eri
an ductdur
ing sex
diff
erent
iat
ioninthefetus.

2.Ley
digCel
ls:t
heyarei
nter
sper
sedwit
hconnect
ivet
issueswi
thi
nthetest
es.
Theyhaveanendocr
inef
uncti
onofsy
nthesi
si
ngandsecreti
ngt
est
oster
one.

3.Epi
didymis:composedofconvul
atedt
ubules.I
thasaheadr egi
onwhi
ch
j
oinstheeff
erentduct
il
eandfor
msacapov ert
hesuper
ioraspectoft
het
est
is.
I
tplay
st hefol
lowi
ngroles:

 Ser
vesasst
oragesi
tef
orsper
m cel
l
s.

 Passnut
ri
ent
stosper
m.
  Conv
ert
snonmot
il
esper
mtomot
il
esper
m

 Contai
nssteroci
ll
iathatabsorbs90% oft
het esti
cul
arfluidandal
so
absorbsper
mt hatar
estoredbeyond40-
60day
si fnotej
aculat
ed.

Endocr
inef
unct
ionsoft
het
est
es:

The hormone secreti

ng cell
s ofthe test
es ar
et he serol
icell
s and the
i
nterst
it
ialcell
s ofleydig.These hor
mones are ster
oids and l
i
ke st
eroid
hormones,arederi
vedfrom chol
est
erol
.

Sert
olicel
l
ssecretei
nhibi
nandMul l
eri
anregressi
onfactorunderthecont
rol
ofFSH.Theinter
sti
ti
alcel
lsofLeydi
gproducetestost
eroneunderthecont
rol
ofLH.Bothty
pesofcell
salsosecr
etesmallamountsofestradi
ol.

Read up Test
oster
one-Sy
nthesi
s,Met
abol
i
sm,Mechani
sm ofact
ion
r
egul
ati
onandFunct i
ons.

Sper
mat
ogenesi
s:

Thisist hepr ocess/sequenceofev entsbywhi chsperm cell

sar eproduces
from theprimi t
ivegerm cell
s( Sper
mat ogonia)intheger minalepi
thel
ium of
thesemi ni
feroust ubulesofthetestes.Itoccurscontinuousl
ythroughoutthe
reproducti
velifeofthemal efr
om pubertyuntilsenescence.

Oneful
lcycl
eofsper
matogenesi
srequi
resabout64day
sandat
otalnumber
of128mil
l
ionsper
matozoaarepr
oduceddai
ly.

Sper
mat
ogenesi
soccur
sint
hreephases:

1.Phase1:Thisi
sthephasewher emitot
icdivi
si
onofspermatogoni
aoccurs.
Theydivi
detofor
m spermatocytes.Spermatogoni
aaretheouter
mostcellsin
contactwi
ththeepi
thel
ialbasallamina.Theycontai
ndipl
oid(2n)numberof
chromosomes (23 pairs of chromosome cont ai
ning one pair of sex
chromosomeXandY) .

Spermatogoniaunder
goesmit
oti
cdi
visi
ontogiveri
setot
ypeAandTypeB
daught
ercells.Ty
peAcell
sremai
natthebasementmembr
aneandmai
ntai
ns
thegerml i
ne.Ty peBcell
smov et
owardsthelumenandbecomepr
imary
spermat
ocy t
es.

2.Phase2:Thi
sist
hephasewher
emei
oti
cdi
vi
si
onoccur
s.Thepr
imar
y
spermatocyt
eundergomei osi
s1,t herebyformingt wohaploidcel
l
scall
ed
secondarysper
matocy t
es(SSP) .TheseSSP f urtherunder
goesmeiosi
s2,
givi
ngrisetodaughtercel
lscalledspermati
ds.Thesesper mati
dsaresmall
roundcell
sseencloset ot
hel umenoft hetubules.Attheendofthi
sphase,
thespermati
dsformedcont ai
ns23chr omosomes–22aut osomesandone
sexchromosome(eitherXorY).andtheyarenonmot i
le.

3.Phase3:PhaseofSpermiogenesi
s:thi
sistheprocessbywhichsper
mati
ds
becomemat ur
espermatozoa.Thechangesthatoccuratt
hisphasei
ncl
ude:

 Condensat
ionofnucl
earmat
eri
als.

 For
mat
ionofacr
osome,
mit
ochondr
ial
spi
ral
fil
amentandt
ail
str
uct
ure

 Remov
alofexcesscy
topl
asm.

Oncematured,
contract
ionoft hemyoepit
heli
um cellsaroundt
heSemini
fer
ous
tubul
esandsecret
ionsoft hesertol
icel
l
shelpspr opelthespermtowar
dsthe
epidi
dymi
swheretheyat t
ainfurt
hermaturi
tyandst ored.
Themat
uredsper
m cel
lthati
sfor
medhast
hreemaj
orr
egi
ons:

 Head:Cont ai
ns DNA and has a hel
metli
ke acr
osome cont
aini
ng
hydr
oly
ticenzymethatal
l
owspermtopenet
rat
eandentert
heovum.

 MIdpiece:Contai
ns mit
ochondr
ia spi
ral
l
ed ar
ound t
he t
ailf
il
ament
s.
Serv
esasener gysour
ce.

 Tail
:At ypi
calf
lagel
l
um pr
oducedbyacent
ri
ole.Ser
vest
opr
opelt
he
sperm duri
ngmovement
.
THEMALESEXUALRESPONSE/
ACT

Themal esexualactresult
sfrom inherentrefl
exmechanismsi ntegrat
edinthe
sacralandlumbarspi nalcord.Andt hesemechanismscanbei nit
iat
edby
ei
therpsychi
c(sensual per
ceptions,i
magi nati
onandotherfactors)sti
mulat
ion
fr
om thebrainoractualsexualsti
mulationfrom t
hesexor gans,orboth.

1.PenileErect
ion:Thisi saphy si
ologicalphenomenonwher ethehumanpenis
becomesf irmer,engor gedandenl arged.Itoccur sasar esultofacomplex
i
nteracti
onofpsy chological
,neural ,vascularandendocr inefactor
s.Duri
ng
sexual arousal,t he spongy er ecti
le tissues ( copora carvenosa and
spongiosum)f il
ls up wi th bl
ood f rom arteries.The r esul
tantincr
ease i
n
pressuresealsoffthev einsthatdrainsthepeni s,therebycausingthepeni
sto
engorgeander ecti
onoccur s.

Neur alcontroloferecti
on:Er ecti
oniseli
cit
edbypar asy mpatheticimpul ses
thatpassf rom thesacralporti
onofthespinalcor
dt hrought hepel vi
cner ves
tot hepenis,wheretheyterminateinart
eri
essuppl
yinger ecti
letissues.These
nerv efi
bersar ebeli
evedtor el
easeNitri
coxidewhichel i
citrelaxati
onoft he
arteri
esoft hepenis,aswel lasrel
axthesmoot hmuscl efibersintheer ectil
e
ti
ssuesoft hepenil
emuscl es.Thisenabl
esthesebloodv esselsandmuscl es
t
ofi
l
lupwi
thbl
oodandsubsequenti
ncr
easei
nsi
zeoft
hepeni
soccur
s.

Erecti
on hasalso been recentlyreport
ed t
o bei nf
luenced bysupr
aspi
nal
centerst
hatint
egrat
ev i
sual,tacti
l
e,tact
il
eandolf
actorysti
muli
.Thesecent
ers
arelocatedinthehy pot
halamusandl imbiccort
exandar eknowntoelici
t
penil
eerecti
oninexperi
ment alrat
s.

During sexualsti
mulati
on,t he parasympat
heti
ci mpulses i
n addi t
ion t
o
promot i
ngerecti
on,causetheur ethralgl
andsandbul bouret
hralglandsto
secret
emucus.Thi smucusflowst hr
oughtheuret
hraduringi
ntercour
set oai
d
i
nt helubri
cati
onduri
ngcoit
us.

2. Emi ssionandEj acul

ati
on:Thesear etheculminati
onofthemal esexual
act.When t he sexualstimulat
ion becomes extremelyintense,the ref
lex
center
soft hespinalcordbeginstoemi tsympatheti
cimpulsesthatleavethe
cordatT12 toL2andpasst othegenitalorgansthroughthehypogastri
cand
pelv
ic sympat het
ic nerve pl
exus toi nit
iat
e emission,the for
erunnerof
ej
aculati
on.

Emissionistheaccumulati
onoft hesper
m cellsandt hesecr
eti
onoft he
prost
ategland,seminalvesi
clesi
nt heuret
hra.Itisaccompli
shedbyt he
contr
acti
onofthevasdeferensandampull
a,seminalvesi
cl
esandejacul
atory
duct.

I
tiscont
rol
l
edbyt
hesy
mpat
het
iccent
ersi
nthespi
nal
cor
d.

Allthef l
uidfrom thisgl
andmixint hepr
ostati
curet
hrawi t
ht hemucusfr
om
thebulbour et
hralglandtofor
m semen.Thef il
l
ingoftheinter
nalur
ethr
awith
eli
citssensorysignalsthataret
ransmitt
edt hr
oughthepudenalnervetothe
sacralregionoft hecordwheret hesesignalsareint
egratedandeffer
ent
sympat heti
candsomat i
cmotoroutputar
esentback.

Sympathet
icoutputcauseconst
ri
cti
onofthei
nter
nalsphi
nct
erofur
inar
y
bl
addersothatsemenanduri
nedonotmi
x.

Somaticmotoroutputsuppl
yi
ngpenil
eskeletalmuscles,urogeni
taldi
aphr
agm
and baseofpeni scausing r
hyt
hmiccont r
act i
onsoft hebul bospongi
osus
musclethatfor
cesemenoutoft heurethr
aandoutv i
at heurethr
almeatus
(ej
acul
ati
on).Atthesamet i
me,rhyt
hmicalcont r
acti
onsoft hepelvi
cmuscles
andsomeoft hemusclesofthebodycausethr ust
ingmov ementsofthepelvi
c
andpeni
swhi
chal
sohel
pst
opr
opel
thesemenoutt
otheext
eri
or.

ENDOCRI
NEFUNCTI
ONOFTHETESTES

Thetest
esisknownt osecretesomehor monest hatplaysigni
ficantrolesin
the male reproducti
ve functi
on. These hormones i nclude: Andr ogens
(Test
ost
erone,dihy
drotest
oster
oneandrostenedi
one),estr
ogen,inhibi
n.

Test
ost
erone:

It
ssecr et
edbyt hei nter
sti
ti
alcel lsofl eydigint het estes.I tist hemost
abundantandr ogen i nt he testes and pl ays a maj orr ol
ei nt he male
reproductivefunction.Testosteronei sast eroidhor monesy nthesi
sedf rom
cholesterolandsecr et
edbyt hel eydigcell
s.Oncesecr eted,i tbecomesbound
topl asmaal buminorbet aglobul i
ncal l
edt hesexhor mone- bindingglobuli
n
andci rcul
atesinbloodf or30mi nutest oaf ewhour s.Circulati
ngt estoster
one
i
sei thert r
ansfer
redt ot i
ssuesordegr adedi nt
oi nact i
vepr oductswhi chare
l
aterexcr eted.Intissues,itisconv ertedtodi hydrotesterone( amor eactiv
e
form)by5α- r
eductaseandel i
citsvariousphy si
ologicaleffect.

Degradati
on:Occur sint heli
verwher eitisdegradedtoandr ost
eroneand
dehydroepi
adrosterone.Itist he conj
ugat
ed as glucor
onides orsulphate.
Thesesubst ancesar eexcret
edeitherint
ot hegutv i
abileorintotheur i
ne
thr
ought hekidneys.

Act
ionsofTest
ost
erone

1.Causedescentoft
het
est
esi
ntot
hescr
otum dur
ingt
hel
ast2-
3mont
hs
ofgest
ati
on.

2.Aft
er puber
ty,increasi
ng level
s of t est
ost
erone sti
mulates t
he
devel
opmentofmaleadultpr
imaryandsecondar
ycharact
eri
sti
cs.

3.I
ncr
easebonemat
ri
xandcausescal
ci
um r
etent
ion.

4.I
ncr
easebasal
met
abol
i
crat
e

5.I
ncr
easespr
otei
nfor
mat
ionandmuscl
edev
elopment
.

6.I
ncr
easesRBCcount