Self vs.

Non-self

The immune system has the capacity to distinguish between body cells (self) and
foreign materials (non-self)

All nucleated cells of the body possess unique and distinctive surface molecules that
identify it as self
 These self markers are called MHC class I
 The immune system will not normally react to cells bearing these genetically
determined markers

Any substance that is recognised as foreign and is capable of triggering an immune

response is called an antigen
 Antigens are recognised by lymphocytes which bind to and detect the
characteristic shape of an exposed portion (epitope)
 Lymphocytes trigger antibody production

Antigenic determinants include:

 Surface markers present on foreign bodies in the blood and tissue
 The self markers of cells from a different organism

Self markers (MHC class I) are present on the surface of all nucleated body cells and
identify the cell as part of the organism

Red blood cells are not nucleated and hence do not possess the same unique self
markers as all other body cells
 This means that red blood cells can be transferred between individuals
without automatically causing immune rejection

However, red blood cells do possess basic antigenic markers which limit the
capacity for transfusion
 Red blood cells may possess surface glycoproteins (A and B antigens) either
independently (A or B) or in combination (AB)
 Alternatively, red blood cells may possess neither surface glycoprotein
(denoted as O)

As humans produce antibodies against foreign antigens, blood transfusions are not
compatible between certain blood groups
 AB blood groups can receive blood from any other type (as they already
possess both antigenic variants on their cells)
 A blood groups cannot receive B blood or AB blood (as the B antigen is
foreign and will stimulate antibody production)
 B blood groups cannot receive A blood or AB blood (as the A antigen is
foreign and will stimulate antibody production)
 O blood groups can only receive transfusions from other O blood donor (both
antigenic variants are foreign)
 Pathogenesis

A pathogen is an agent that causes disease

 A disease is any condition that disturbs the normal functioning of the body
 An illness is a deterioration in the normal state of health of an organism (a
disease may cause an illness)

Pathogens are generally species-specific in that their capacity to cause disease

(pathogenesis) is limited to a particular species
 Polio is an example of diseases caused by pathogens that specifically affect
human hosts

Certain pathogens may cross the species barrier and be able to infect and cause
disease in a range of hosts
 Diseases from animals that can be transmitted to humans are called zoonotic
diseases.
 Examples of zoonotic diseases include rabies and the bubonic plague

Disease Transmission
Transmission of infectious diseases can occur via a number of distinct mechanisms:
 Direct contact – the transfer of pathogens via physical association or the
exchange of body fluids
 Contamination – ingestion of pathogens through food
 Airborne –transfer of pathogens in the air via coughing and sneezing
 Vectors – intermediary organisms that transfer pathogens without developing
disease symptoms themselves

Clonal Selection

When the body is challenged by a foreign pathogen it will respond with both a non-
specific and a specific immune reaction
 Non-specific immune cells called macrophages will break down pathogens
non-selectively
 A proportion of macrophages (dendritic cells) will present the antigenic
fragments of the pathogen to specific lymphocytes

Antigenic fragments are presented to specific helper T lymphocytes that, when

activated, releases cytokines
 The cytokines stimulate a specific B lymphocyte to move to the antigen
to divide and form clones
 Most of the clones will develop into short-lived plasma cells that produce large
quantities of the specific antibody
 A small proportion of clones will differentiate into long-lived memory cells that
function to provide long-term immunity

Pathogens typically contain multiple distinct antigenic fragments on their surface and
hence a single pathogen is likely to stimulate several different T and B lymphocytes
to produce a variety of specific antibodies (polyclonal activation)
 Antibodies

When a specific B lymphocyte is activated following antigen presentation, it divides

into plasma cells and memory cells
 Plasma cells are short-lived and secrete high numbers of antibodies that are
specific to a particular antigen

Antibodies aid in the destruction of pathogens by a number of different mechanisms:

• Precipitation – Soluble pathogens become insoluble, aiding destruction

• Agglutination – Cellular pathogens become clumped for easier removal
• Neutralisation – Blocks dangerous parts of pathogen
• Inflammation – Antibodies may trigger an inflammatory response within the body
• Complement activation – Complement proteins pierce pathogen membranes

Antibodies enhances the immune system by aiding the detection and removal of
pathogens by the macrophages
 The constant region of antibodies can be recognised by macrophages,
improving pathogen identification (opsonisation)
 The macrophages can now eliminate pathogens more efficiently, reducing
disease symptoms

Immunity

The adaptive immune system relies on the clonal expansion of plasma cells to
produce sufficiently large numbers of antibodies
 This means there is a delay between the initial exposure to a pathogen and
the production of large quantities of antibodies
 If pathogens can reproduce rapidly during this delay period, they can cause
disease

Memory cells are produced to prevent this delay in subsequent exposures and
hence prevent disease symptoms
 When a B lymphocyte is activated and divides to form plasma cells, a small
proportion will differentiate into memory cells
 Memory cells are long living and will survive in the body for many years,
producing low levels of antibodies
 If a second infection with the same pathogen occurs, memory cells will react
more vigorously to produce antibodies faster
 As antibodies are produced faster, pathogen exposure no longer causes the
disease to occur and the individual is said to be immune

Allergens

An allergen is an environmental substance that triggers an immune response

 This immune response tends to be localised to the region of exposure as
an allergic reaction
 A severe allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis
An allergic reaction requires prior exposure to the allergen
 When a specific B cell first encounters the allergen, it differentiates into
plasma cells and makes large quantities of antibody IgE
 The IgE antibodies attach to mast cells and prime them
 Upon re-exposure to the allergen, the IgE-primed mast cells release large
amounts of histamine which causes inflammation

Inflammation triggers vasodilation and increased capillary permeability

Vasodilation is the widening of blood vessels to improve the circulation of blood to

targeted regions
 Vasodilation causes redness (as vessel expansion moves blood closer to the
skin) and heat (which is transported in blood)

Capillary permeability describes the capacity for fluids to leave the bloodstream and
migrate into the body tissue
 Increased permeability leads to swelling (more fluid leaks from the blood)
and pain (swelling causes compression of nerves)

Redness, heat, swelling and localised pain are symptoms of an allergic response

Vaccination

Vaccinations induce long-term immunity to specific pathogenic infections by

stimulating the production of memory cells
 A vaccine is a weakened form of the pathogen that contains antigens but is
incapable of triggering disease
 The antigenic determinants in a vaccine may be joined to an adjuvant, which
functions to boost the immune response
 The body responds to an injected vaccine by producing memory cells
 When exposed to the actual pathogen, the memory cells trigger a more potent
immune response
 As a consequence of this more potent immune response, disease symptoms
do not develop

Memory cells may not survive a lifetime and individuals may subsequently require a
booster shot to maintain immunity

 An epidemic is a substantially increased occurrence of a particular infection

within a given region
 A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread across a large geographical area
(like a continent)

Vaccination indirectly protects non-vaccinated individuals via herd immunity

 Herd immunity is when individuals who are not immune to a pathogen are
protected from exposure by the large amounts of immune individuals within
the community
Smallpox was the first infectious disease of humans to have been eradicated via
vaccination

The eradication of smallpox by vaccination was successful for a number of reasons:

 Smallpox was easily identifiable which helped to limit potential transmission
 Transmission only occurred via direct contact and there were no animal
vectors
 The virus was stable and didn’t mutate into alternate strains

Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies artificially derived from a single B cell clone
 An animal is injected with an antigen and produces antigen-specific plasma
cells
 The plasma cells are removed and fused with tumor cells capable of endless
divisions
 The resulting hybridoma cell is capable of synthesising large quantities of
monoclonal antibody

Treatment Use
Monoclonal antibodies are commonly used to provide immune protection for
individuals who contract harmful diseases
 Because the rabies virus can potentially be fatal, injecting purified antibodies
functions as an effective emergency treatment
 Monoclonal antibodies can be used to target cancer cells that the body’s own
immune cells fail to recognise as harmful

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are named according to the source organism

 Mice antibodies (-omab) are easier to synthesise than human antibodies (-
umab) but are less likely to be tolerated by the patient

Diagnostic Use
Monoclonal antibodies can be used to test for pregnancy via the presence of hCG in
urine
 hCG is a hormone produced by women during foetal development and thus its
presence in urine is indicative of pregnancy

Pregnancy tests use a process called ELISA:

 Free monoclonal antibodies specific to hCG are joined to an enzyme that
changes the colour of a dye substrate
 Fixed monoclonal antibodies specific to hCG are joined to the dye substrate
 If hCG is present in urine, it will interact with both sets of monoclonal
antibodies (forming an antibody ‘sandwich’)
 When both sets of antibody are bound to hCG, the enzyme is brought into
proximity with the dye, changing its colour
 A third set of monoclonal antibodies will bind any unattached enzyme-linked
antibodies, functioning as a control (proves test is working)
 Skeletal Framework

Movement Systems
The ability to move is controlled by a number of systems, including:
 Skeletal system – consists of bones that act as levers and provide a structure
for the muscles to pull
 Muscular system – muscles deliver the force required to move one bone in
relation to another
 Nervous system – delivers signals to the muscles which cause them to
contract and create movement
Skeletons are a rigid framework that function to provide support and protection for
body organs
 Skeletons can be internal (endoskeletons) or external (exoskeletons)

Skeletons provide a surface for muscle attachment and thus facilitate the movement
of an organism
 Bones and exoskeletons act as levers, moving in response to muscular
contraction

Joints

Synovial joints are capsules that surround where two bones connect
 Joints function to maintain structural stability by allowing certain movements
but not others

Synovial joints consist of three main components:

 Joint capsule –provides stability by restricting the range of possible
movements
 Cartilage – Lines the bone surface to facilitate smoother movement, as well
as absorbing shock and distributing load
 Synovial fluid – Provides oxygen and nutrition to the cartilage, as well as
lubrication (reduces friction)

There are six main types of synovial joints that allow for different ranges of
movement, which are (in order of mobility):
 Plane joints (least mobility), hinge joints, pivot joints, condyloid joints, saddle
joints, ball and socket joints (most mobility)

The human elbow joint is an example of a hinge joint

 It is capable of angular movement in one direction
 Muscles

Muscles connect to bones via tendons and contract to provide the force required to
produce movement

Skeletal muscles exist in antagonistic pairs (when one contracts, the other relaxes)
to enable opposing movements
 Opposing movements may include: flexion vs extension, abduction vs
adduction, protraction vs retraction,

Grasshoppers and praying mantises have hind legs that are specialised for jumping
 The jointed exoskeleton of the hind leg is divided into 2 parts: femur and tibia
 The femur and tibia are connected by two antagonistic muscles: flexor tibiae
muscle and extensor tibiae muscle

When the flexor muscle contracts, the extensor muscle relaxes and the tibia and
femur are brought closer together
 This retracts the hind quarters in preparation for pushing off the ground

When the extensor muscle contracts, the flexor muscle relaxes and the tibia is
pushed away from the femur
 This extends the hind quarters and causes the insect to jump
 Muscle Fibres

 Skeletal muscles consist of tightly packaged muscular bundles (fascicles)

 Each bundle contains multiple muscle fibres, which are formed when
individual muscle cells fuse together
 Muscle fibres contain tubular myofibrils that run the length of the fibre and are
responsible for muscular contraction
 The myofibrils can be divided into repeating sections called sarcomeres, each
of which represent a single contractile unit

Each individual muscle fibre has the following specialised features designed to
facilitate muscle contraction:
 They are multinucleate (fibres form from the fusion of individual muscle cells
and hence have many nuclei)
 They have a specialised endoplasmic reticulum (sarcoplasmic reticulum and
stores calcium ions)
 They contain many tubular myofibrils
 Sarcomeres

Myofibrils consist of repeating contractile units called sarcomeres, which are made of
two protein myofilaments
 The thick filament (myosin) contains small protruding heads which bind to
regions of the thin filament (actin)
 Movement of these two filaments relative to one another causes the
lengthening and shortening of the sarcomere

Each individual sarcomere is flanked by Z discs, which hold the myofilaments in

place
 The actin filaments radiate out from the Z discs and help to anchor the central
myosin filaments in place

The recurring sarcomeres produce a striated pattern along the length of the muscle
fibres
 The centre of the sarcomere appears darker due to the overlap of both actin
and myosin filaments (A band)
 The peripheries of the sarcomere appear lighter as only actin is present in this
region (I band)
 The dark A band may also contain a slightly lighter central region where only
the myosin is present (H zone)

Muscle Contraction

The process of muscular contraction occurs over a number of key steps

1. Depolarisation and Calcium Ion Release

 An action potential from a motor neuron triggers the release of acetylcholine
into the motor end plate
 Acetylcholine initiates depolarisation within the sarcolemma, which is spread
through the muscle fibre via T tubules
  Depolarisation causes the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release stores of calcium
ions (Ca2+)

2. Actin and Myosin Cross-Bridge Formation

 On actin, the binding sites for the myosin heads are covered by a blocking
complex (troponin and tropomyosin)
 Calcium ions bind to troponin and reconfigure the complex, exposing the
binding sites for the myosin heads
 The myosin heads then form a cross-bridge with the actin filaments

3. Sliding Mechanism of Actin and Myosin

4. Sarcomere Shortening
 The repeated reorientation of the myosin heads drags the actin filaments
along the length of the myosin
 As actin filaments are anchored to Z lines, the dragging of actin pulls the Z
lines closer together, shortening the sarcomere
 As the individual sarcomeres become shorter in length, the muscle fibres as a
whole contracts

Summary of Muscle Contractions

 Action potential in a motor neuron triggers the release of Ca2+ ions from the
sarcoplasmic reticulum
 Calcium ions bind to troponin (on actin) and cause tropomyosin to move,
exposing binding sites for the myosin heads
  The actin filaments and myosin heads form a cross-bridge that is broken by
ATP
 ATP hydrolysis causes the myosin heads to swivel and change orientation
 Swiveled myosin heads bind to the actin filament before returning to their
original conformation (releasing ADP + Pi)
 The repositioning of the myosin heads move the actin filaments towards the
centre of the sarcomere
 The sliding of actin along myosin therefore shortens the sarcomere, causing
muscle contraction

State of Contraction

When muscle fibres contract, actin filaments slide along the myosin, reducing the
length of the lighter I bands
 The movement of the actin filaments also reduces the width of the H zone,
however the length of A bands do not change

Excretion

Excretion is the removal of the waste products from metabolic activity

 Defecation is not considered part of excretion as faeces are undigested food
remnants and not metabolic waste products

There are two key functions that an excretory system performs:

Removing Nitrogenous Waste

Nitrogenous wastes are produced from the breakdown of nitrogen-containing
compounds like amino acids and nucleotides
 Nitrogenous wastes are toxic to the organism and hence must be removed
from the body

Most aquatic animals eliminate their nitrogenous wastes as ammonia (NH3)

 Ammonia is highly toxic but also very water soluble and hence can be
effectively removed by animals in aquatic habitats

Terrestrial animals have less access to water and hence must package nitrogenous
waste in less toxic forms
  Mammals eliminate their nitrogenous wastes as urea, which is less toxic and
hence can be stored at higher concentrations
 Reptiles and birds eliminate wastes as uric acid

Removing Excess Water

Water levels within an organism are constantly changing as a result of metabolic
activity
 Water is produced via anabolism)and is consumed during catabolism
 The concentration of water within cells (osmolarity) will impact tissue viability

Animals may be either osmoconformers or osmoregulators:

 Osmoconformers maintain internal conditions that are equal to the osmolarity
of their environment
 Osmoregulators keep their body’s osmolarity constant, regardless of
environmental conditions

By matching internal osmotic conditions to the environment, osmoconformers

minimise water movement in and out of cells
 Less energy is used to maintain internal osmotic conditions within an
osmoconformer

While osmoregulation is a more energy-intensive process, Osmoregulators can

maintain optimal internal conditions whereas osmoconformers are affected by
environmental conditions

Malphigian Tubes

 In mammals, the excretory system (kidneys) is separate from the digestive

system of the animal
 In insects, the excretory system (Malpighian tubules) connects to the digestive
system of the animal

Malpighian Tubules
 Insects have a circulating fluid system called hemolymph that is comparable
to the blood system in mammals
 Malpighian tubules branch off from the intestinal tract and takes in uric acid,
salt, water from the hemolymph
 The tubules pass these materials into the gut to combine with digested food
 water and salts are reabsorbed into the hemolymph at the hindgut, whereas
uric acid and undigested food materials are excreted via the anus

Kidney

 Blood enters the kidneys via the renal artery and exits the kidneys via the
renal vein
 Blood is filtered by specialised structures called nephrons which produce
urine
 The urine is transported from the kidneys via the ureter
The kidney contains specialised structures called nephrons which function to filter
blood and eliminate wastes
 Consequently, the composition of blood entering the kidney differs to that
exiting the kidney

Blood exiting via the renal vein will have:

 Less urea
 Less water and solutes / ions
 Less glucose and oxygen
 More carbon dioxide

Nephrons

The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney, with each nephron being comprised
of the following components:
 Bowman’s capsule – part of the nephron where blood is initially filtered
 Proximal convoluted tubule – folded structure connected to the Bowman’s
capsule where selective reabsorption occurs
 Loop of Henle – a selectively permeable loop that descends into the medulla
and establishes a salt gradient
 Distal convoluted tubule – folded structure connected to the loop of Henle
where further selective reabsorption occurs

The blood to be filtered enters the Bowman’s capsule via an afferent arteriole and
leaves the capsule via an efferent arteriole
 Within the Bowman’s capsule, the blood is filtered at the glomerulus
 The efferent arteriole forms a blood network called the vasa recta

Each nephron connects to a collecting duct

Nephrons filter blood and then reabsorb useful materials from the filtrate before
eliminating the remainder as urine

This process occurs over three key stages:

1. Ultrafiltration
2. Selective reabsorption
3. Osmoregulation

Ultrafiltration

Structure of the Bowman’s Capsule

 As the blood moves into the kidney via afferent arterioles it enters the
glomerulus
 This glomerulus is encapsulated by the Bowman’s capsule, which is
comprised of an inner surface of cells called podocytes
 Podocytes have cellular extensions called pedicels that wrap around the
blood vessels of the glomerulus

Basement Membrane
Blood is filtered by a mesh called the basement membrane, which lies between the
glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule
 Glomerular blood vessels have pores and podocytes of the Bowman’s capsule
have gaps between their pedicels
 Consequently, the basement membrane functions as the sole filtration barrier
within the nephron

The basement membrane is size-selective and restricts the passage of blood cells
and large proteins
Hydrostatic Pressure
Ultrafiltration involves blood being forced at high pressure against the basement
membrane, optimising filtration
 This high hydrostatic pressure is created in the glomerulus by having a wide
afferent arteriole and a narrow efferent arteriole
 This means it is easy for blood to enter the glomerulus, but difficult for it to exit
– increasing pressure within the glomerulus

Selective Reabsorption

Selective reabsorption involves the reabsorption of useful substances from the

filtrate and occurs in the convoluted tubules (majority at proximal convoluted tubule,
which extends from the Bowman’s capsule)

There are also a large number of mitochondria within these tubule cells, as
reabsorption involves active transport
 Substances are actively transported across the apical membrane (into tubular
lumen)
 Substances then passively diffuse across the basolateral membrane (into
blood)

The tubules reabsorb all glucose, amino acids, along with most of the mineral
ions and water
 Mineral ions actively transported by protein pumps
 Glucose and amino acids are co-transported across the apical membrane with
sodium (symport)
 Water follows the movement of the mineral ions passively via osmosis

Osmoregulation

Osmoregulation is the control of the water balance in a living organism

Osmoregulation occurs in the medulla of the kidney and involves two key events:

Establishing a Salt Gradient

 The function of the loop of Henle is to create a hypertonic (high solute)
concentration in the tissue fluid of the medulla
 The descending limb of the loop of Henle is permeable to water but not salts
 The ascending limb of the loop of Henle is permeable to salts but not water
 This means that as the loop descends into the medulla, the fluid becomes
more hypertonic
 Additionally, the vasa recta blood network that surrounds the loop of Henle
flows in the opposite direction (counter-current)
 This means that salts released from the ascending limb are drawn down into
the medulla, further establishing a salt gradient

Water Reabsorption
 As the collecting duct passes through the medulla, the hypertonic conditions
of the medulla will draw water out by osmosis
 The amount of water released from the collecting is controlled by ADH
  ADH is released in response to dehydration
 ADH increases the permeability of the collecting duct to water
 This means less water remains in the filtrate, urine becomes concentrated
and the individual urinates less
 When an individual is suitably hydrated, ADH levels decrease resulting in
more dilute urine

Water Balance

Dehydration
 Dehydration is a loss of water from the body such that body fluids become
hypertonic
 Individuals will experience thirst and excrete small quantities of heavily
concentrated urine
 Blood pressure will drop and the heart rate will increase to compensate for
this
 The individual will become lethargic
 Severe cases of dehydration may cause seizures, brain damage and eventual
death

Overhydration
 Overhydration is a less common occurrence that results when an over-
consumption of water makes body fluids hypotonic
 Individuals will produce excessive quantities of clear urine in an effort to
remove water from the body
 The hypotonic body fluids will cause cells to swell, which can lead to tissue
damage
 Overhydration can lead to headaches and disrupted nerve functions in mild
cases (due to swelling of cells)
 In severe cases, overhydration may lead to seizures, coma and eventual
death
Animals in arid, desert environments will need more efficient water conservation than
animals in moist, mesic environments

Water conservation can be improved by having a longer loop of Henle, which

increase the salt gradient in the medulla
 A greater the salt gradient in the medulla means more water is drawn from the
collecting ducts and urine is concentrated

Hence:
 Animals living in moist environments have short loops of Henle
that don’t descend deeply into the medulla (cortical nephrons)
 Animals living in arid environments have long loops of Henle that descend
deeply into the medulla (juxtamedullary nephrons)

Kidney diseases

Kidney diseases are conditions which stop the kidney’s ability to filter waste products
from the blood

Urinary Analysis
Kidneys prevent the excretion of blood cells and proteins (during ultrafiltration), as
well as glucose (selective reabsorption)
 Hence the presence of these materials in urine can be used as an indicator of
disease

Drugs / toxins: Many drugs pass through the body into urine and can be detected

Hemodialysis
Kidney dialysis involves the external filtering of blood in order to remove metabolic
wastes in patients with kidney failure

Blood is removed and pumped through a dialyzer

Kidney Transplant
Hemodialysis ensures continued blood filtering, but does not address the underlying
issue affecting kidney function

The best long-term treatment for kidney failure is a kidney transplant:

 Donors can survive with one kidney and so may commonly donate the second
to relative suffering kidney failure

Gametogenesis

Gametogenesis is the process by which diploid precursor cells undergo meiotic

division to become haploid gametes (sex cells)
 In males, this process is called spermatogenesis and produce sperm
 In females, this process is called oogenesis and produce eggs
Spermatogenesis
 Spermatogenesis describes the producton of sperm in the seminiferous
tubules of the testes
 The process begins at puberty when the germline epithelium of the
seminiferous tubules divides by mitosis
 These cells then undergo a period of cell growth, becoming spermatogonia
 The spermatocytes undergo two meiotic divisions to form four haploid
daughter cells (spermatids)
 These daughter cells then undertake a process of differentiation in order to
become functional sperm cells (spermatozoa)

Oogenesis
 Oogenesis describes the production of eggs within the ovaries
 The process begins during foetal development
 Oogonia cells undergo cell growth until they are large enough to undergo
meiosis (becoming primary oocytes)
 The primary oocytes begin meiosis but are arrested in prophase I
 The primary oocytes remain arrested in prophase I until puberty, when a girl
begins her menstrual cycle
 Each month, hormone FSH will trigger the continued division of some of the
primary oocytes
 These cells will complete the first meiotic division to form two cells of unequal
size
 One cell retains the entirety of the cytoplasm to form a secondary oocyte,
while the other cell forms a polar body
 The secondary oocyte begins the second meiotic division but is arrested in
metaphase II
 The secondary oocyte is released from the ovary and enters into the oviduct
 The follicular cells surrounding the oocyte form a corona radiata and function
to nourish the secondary oocyte
 If the oocyte is fertilised by a sperm, chemical changes will trigger the
completion of meiosis II and the formation of another polar body (the first
polar body may also undergo a second division to form a third polar body)
 Once meiosis II is complete the mature egg forms a ovum, before fusing its
nucleus with the sperm nucleus to form a zygote
 Reproductive Tissue

The process of gametogenesis occurs in the reproductive organs (gonads) of the

male and female
 In males, the gametes are produced within the seminiferous tubules
 In females, the gametes are produced by the ovaries

Seminiferous Tubule
 The testes are composed of seminiferous tubules which produce sperm
 Each tubule is surrounded by a basement membrane which is lined by
germline epithelium
 The germline epithelium will divide by mitosis to make spermatogonia which
divide by meiosis to make spermatids
 The spermatids differentiate into functional spermatozoa, which are then
released into the lumen of the tubule
 These developing spermatozoa are nourished by Sertoli cells
Ovary
 The ovary contains follicles in various stages of development
 Primordial follicles contain primary oocytes
 Some of these follicles will develop each month into primary follicles and then
secondary follicles
 Each cycle, one follicle will become a dominant Graafian follicle and rupture to
release the secondary oocyte
 The ruptured follicle will then develop into a short-lived corpus luteum, which
secretes key ovarian hormones
 Eventually the corpus luteum will degenerate to form a corpus albicans

Cross-Sections of Reproductive Tissue