REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

GONADS ACCESSORY REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

TESTES OVARIES

Reproductive role of the Male Reproductive System
-manufacture male gametes
-deliver them to the woman’s reproductive tract
Reproductive role of the Female Reproductive
System
-produces female gametes
-provides a protective environment in which the
embryo, later called fetus, develops until birth

JOINT PURPOSE: TO PRODUCE OFFSPRING

TESTES

SPERMATIC CORD

TUNICA ALBUGINEA SEPTUM LOBULES

SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES

RETE TESTIS

EPIDIDYMIS

INTERSTITIAL CELLS
DUCT SYSTEM

EPIDIDYMIS – 6 meters long; temporary storage site for sperm; it takes 20 days, they mature and develop the ability to swim

DUCTUS DEFERENS – propel live sperm from their storage sites into the urethra

URETHRA – extends from the base of the urinary bladder to the tip of the penis; terminal part of the male duct system

PROSTATIC URETHRA – surrounded by the prostate gland

MEMBRANOUS URETHRA – from the prostatic urethra to the penis

SPONGY (PENILE) URETHRA – running within the penis and opening to the body exterior via the external urethral orifice
EJACULATORY DUCT

AMPULLA

DESCENDS ALONG THE POSTERIOR BLADDER WALL

LOOPS MEDIALLY OVER THE URETER

SUPERIOR ASPECT OF THE BLADDER

INGUINAL CANAL

SPERMATIC CORD
ACCESSORY GLANDS

paired SEMINAL VESICLES

-produced 60% of the seminal fluid (fluid portion)
-thick, yellowish
-rich in sugar, vitamin C, prostaglandins and other
substances to nourish and activate the sperm
passing though the tract
-joins with the ductus deferens to form the
ejaculatory duct

single PROSTATE
-prostate fluid
-milky and plays a role in activating sperm

paired BULBOURETHRAL GLANDS

-tiny, pea-sized glands inferior to the prostate
-thick, clear mucus
-secretion first to pass down the urethra when a
man becomes sexually excited
-cleanses the urethra of trace acidic urine prior to
ejaculation
-serves as a lubricant during sexual intercourse
SEMEN

-milky white, somewhat sticky mixture of sperm and

accessory gland secretion

-liquid portion of the semen contains nutrients and

chemicals that protect the sperm and aid their
movement

-sperm are sluggish under acidic conditions

-the alkalinity of semen helps neutralize the acidic

environment of the female’s vagina

-also contain antibiotic chemicals

EXTERNAL GENITALIA

SCROTUM – divided sac of skin with sparse PENIS – functions to deliver sperm into the
hairs that hangs outside the abdominal cavity, female reproductive tract
between the legs at the root of the penis
shaft – skin covered

erectile tissues
corpora cavernosa (2)
corpus spongiosum (1)
FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

DUCT SYSTEM
OVARIES

OOCYTE UTERINE TUBES

OVARIAN FOLLICLES

FOLLICLE CELLS
UTERUS

GRAAFIAN ANTRUM VAGINA

FOLLICLE/VESICULAR
FOLLICLE

SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS – LATERAL WALLS OF THE PELVIS

OVARIAN LIGAMENTS – MEDIALLY TO THE UTERUS

CORPUS LUTEUM
BROAD LIGAMENT – HOLDS THE OVARIES AND UTERUS
UTERINE TUBES/FALLOPIAN TUBES

-RECEIVE THE OVULATED OOCYTE

-PROVIDE A SITE FOR FERTILIZATOIN
UTERUS

-located between the bladder and rectum

-hollow organ
-receive, retain and nourish a fertilized egg
-size and shape of a pear
-in pregnancy, increases in size
-suspended in the pelvis by the broad ligament
-anchored anteriorly by the round ligament
-anchored posteriorly by the uterosacral ligament
portions of the uterus

-body – major portion

-fundus – rounded region and entrance to the uterine tubes
-cervix – narrow outlet, protrudes inferiorly into the vagina

layers of the uterus

-endometrium – inner layer or mucosa

-myometrium – composed of smooth muscles; active role
in childbirth
-perimetrium – outermost layer
VAGINA

-thin walled tube

-provides a passageway for the delivery of an infant and for the
menstrual flow to leave the body
-female organ of copulation

hymen – thin fold of mucosa that partially close the distal end of
the vagina

EXTERNAL GENITALIA/FEMALE PERINEUM

collectively called the vulva

mons pubis
labia
clitoris
urethral and vaginal orifices
greater vestibular glands – secretion lubricates the distal end of
the vagina during intercourse