HUMAN REPRODUCTION

Human reproduction
Human reproduction is sexual and it
has two main characteristics:

1) The new individual is formed

from a single cell called a zygote.

2) Zygote is the cell that results

from the unión of a female
gamete with a male gamete in a
process called fertilization.

Ovum
In humans, gametes are of two types: the male gamete is
Sperm
called sperm and the female gamete is called ovum. Flagellum
 Puberty changes
During puberty, our bodies undergo a series of changes during which we acquire secondary sexual
characteristics. Puberty starts when:
• The first menstruation occurs in females (menarche)
• The first ejaculation occurs in males (Spermache or thorarche)

Changes in secondary sexual characteristics

Girls
• Sex organs mature
• Breast development
• Widening of the hips
• Hair will begin to grow in
the genital área, under the
arms and on the legs.
Boys
• Enlargement of the penis
and testicles
• The shoulders broaden
• Weight and muscle mass
gain
• Deeper voice
• Hair will begin to grow in
the genital área, under the
arms, on the face…
 Reproductive systems
Female reproductive system Male reproductive system
 Menstrual cycle
The menstrual cycle is a process that women go through about every 28 days (approximately).

During this time, the women’s ovaries create a

mature ovum and releases it at mid cycle (day
14).

Then, the woman’s body prepares for

pregnancy by thickening the walls of the uterus
to receive the embryo.

If the woman doesn’t get pregnant during this

time, the lining of the uterus comes out of the
woman’s body by a process called
menstruation.
 Fertilization
Fertilization occurs when the sperm and the egg cell (ovum) fuse together to form a zygote.

In humans, fertilization is internal and takes place in the Falopian tube.

Steps:

1) The ovary releases an ovum into de Fallopian tube.

2) After sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, the

sperm cells swim up trough the uterus to the Fallopian
tubes in search of the ovum.

3) They both meet into the Fallopian tubes.

¡WATCH OUT! Although many sperm reach the egg, only one
manages to enter.
 Pregnancy
After fertilization, the embryo continues on its way to the uterus and stays there to develop.

Pregnancy or gestation is the time it takes for the embryo to form.

We are
PLACENTA FETO
FETUS VIVIPAROUS
animals
UTERUS
ÚTERO

Human gestation usually lasts 40 weeks or around 9 months.

During the first weeks, the future baby is only a few cells and we
can call it embryo. Then, when the embryo is completely
developed we call it fetus.
CORDÓN
UMBILICAL
UMBILICAL
CORD The fetus get oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s blood
through the placenta and the umbilical cord.
 Childbirth
Once the fetus is completely formed, the baby comes out from the
uterus through the mother’s vagina. This process is called childbirth.

Usually, childbirth occurs at the end of 40 weeks of pregnancy,

although sometimes it can occur before that. If this happens, we call it
a premature birth.

There are three stages:

1. Dilatation: usually the longest stage.

2. Expulsion

3. Delivery of the placenta

Una sola placenta Dos placentas