Importance of Human Reproductive System

The major function of the reproductive system is to ensure survival of the species.
Other systems in the body, such as the endocrine and urinary systems, work
continuously to maintain homeostasis for survival of the individual.
Introduction to the Reproductive System

The major function of the reproductive system is to ensure survival of the species.
Other systems in the body, such as the endocrine and urinary systems, work
continuously to maintain homeostasis for survival of the individual. An individual
may live a long, healthy, and happy life without producing offspring, but if the
species is to continue, at least some individuals must produce offspring.
Within the context of producing offspring, the reproductive system has four
functions:
To produce egg and sperm cells

To transport and sustain these cells
To nurture the developing offspring
To produce hormones
These functions are divided between the primary and secondary, or accessory,
reproductive organs. The primary reproductive organs, or gonads, consist of the
ovaries and testes. These organs are responsible for producing the egg and sperm
cells gametes), and hormones. These hormones function in the maturation of the
reproductive system, the development of sexual characteristics, and regulation of
the normal physiology of the reproductive system. All other organs, ducts, and
glands in the reproductive system are considered secondary, or accessory,
reproductive organs. These structures transport and sustain the gametes and nurture
the developing offspring.
Male Reproductive System

The male reproductive system, like that of the female, consists of those organs
whose function is to produce a new individual, i.e., to accomplish reproduction.
This system consists of a pair of testes and a network of excretory ducts
(epididymis, ductus deferens (vas deferens), and ejaculatory ducts), seminal
vesicles, the prostate, the bulbourethral glands, and the penis.
Testes
The male gonads, testes or testicles, begin their development high in the abdominal
cavity, near the kidneys. During the last two months before birth, or shortly after
birth, they descend through the inguinal canal into the scrotum, a pouch that
extends below the abdomen, posterior to the penis. Although this location of the
testes, outside the abdominal cavity, may seem to make them vulnerable to injury,
it provides a temperature about 3° C below normal body temperature. This lower
temperature is necessary for the production of viable sperm.
Illustration of a sagittal section of a testis and epididymis

The scrotum consists of skin and subcutaneous tissue. A vertical septum, or
partition, of subcutaneous tissue in the center divides it into two parts, each
containing one testis. Smooth muscle fibers, called the dartos muscle, in the
subcutaneous tissue contract to give the scrotum its wrinkled appearance. When
these fibers are relaxed, the scrotum is smooth. Another muscle, the cremaster
muscle, consists of skeletal muscle fibers and controls the position of the scrotum
and testes. When it is cold or a man is sexually aroused, this muscle contracts to
pull the testes closer to the body for warmth.
Structure
Each testis is an oval structure about 5 cm long and 3 cm in diameter. A tough,
white fibrous connective tissue capsule, the tunica albuginea, surrounds each
testis and extends inward to form septa that partition the organ into lobules.
There are about 250 lobules in each testis. Each lobule contains 1 to 4 highly
coiled seminiferous tubules that converge to form a single straight tubule, which
leads into the rete testis. Short efferent ducts exit the testes. Interstitial
cells (cells of Leydig), which produce male sex hormones, are located between the
seminiferous tubules within a lobule.
Spermatogenesis
Sperm are produced by spermatogenesis within the seminiferous tubules. A transverse
section of a seminiferous tubule shows that it is packed with cells in various
stages of development. Interspersed with these cells, there are large cells that
extend from the periphery of the tubule to the lumen. These large cells are the
supporting, or sustentacular cells (Sertoli's cells), which support and nourish the
other cells.
Early in embryonic development, primordial germ cells enter the testes and
differentiate into spermatogonia, immature cells that remain dormant until puberty.
Spermatogonia are diploid cells, each with 46 chromosomes (23 pairs) located around
the periphery of the seminiferous tubules. At puberty, hormones stimulate these
cells to begin dividing by mitosis. Some of the daughter cells produced by mitosis
remain at the periphery as spermatogonia. Others are pushed toward the lumen,
undergo some changes, and become primary spermatocytes. Because they are produced
by mitosis, primary spermatocytes, like spermatogonia, are diploid and have 46
chromosomes.
Each primary spermatocytes goes through the first meiotic division, meiosis I, to
produce two secondary spermatocytes, each with 23 chromosomes (haploid). Just prior
to this division, the genetic material is replicated so that each chromosome
consists of two strands, called chromatids, that are joined by a centromere. During
meiosis I, one chromosome, consisting of two chromatids, goes to each secondary
spermatocyte. In the second meiotic division, meiosis II, each secondary
spermatocyte divides to produce two spermatids. There is no replication of genetic
material in this division, but the centromere divides so that a single-stranded
chromatid goes to each cell. As a result of the two meiotic divisions, each primary
spermatocyte produces four spermatids. During spermatogenesis there are two
cellular divisions, but only one replication of DNA so that each spermatid has 23
chromosomes (haploid), one from each pair in the original primary spermatocyte.
Each successive stage in spermatogenesis is pushed toward the center of the tubule
so that the more immature cells are at the periphery and the more differentiated
cells are nearer the center.
Spermatogenesis (and oogenesis in the female) differs from mitosis because the
resulting cells have only half the number of chromosomes as the original cell. When
the sperm cell nucleus unites with an egg cell nucleus, the full number of
chromosomes is restored. If sperm and egg cells were produced by mitosis, then each
successive generation would have twice the number of chromosomes as the preceding
one.
The final step in the development of sperm is called spermiogenesis. In this

process, the spermatids formed from spermatogenesis become mature spermatozoa, or
sperm. The mature sperm cell has a head, midpiece, and tail. The head, also called
the nuclear region, contains the 23 chromosomes surrounded by a nuclear membrane.
The tip of the head is covered by an acrosome, which contains enzymes that help the
sperm penetrate the female gamete. The midpiece, metabolic region, contains
mitochondria that provide adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The tail or locomotor
region, uses a typical flagellum for locomotion. The sperm are released into the
lumen of the seminiferous tubule and leave the testes. They then enter the
epididymis where they undergo their final maturation and become capable of
fertilizing a female gamete.
Sperm production begins at puberty and continues throughout the life of a male. The
entire process, beginning with a primary spermatocyte, takes about 74 days. After
ejaculation, the sperm can live for about 48 hours in the female reproductive
tract.

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The major function of the reproductive system is to ensure survival of the species.

Introduction to the Reproductive System

To produce egg and sperm cells

Male Reproductive System

Illustration of a sagittal section of a testis and epididymis

The final step in the development of sperm is called spermiogenesis. In this

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