Male and Female Reproductive System

• Reproduction produces new offspring and ensures species survival, continuity, and diversity

Male Reproduction

• Penis is used for sexual intercourse and expels urine.
• Urethra expels urine and semen.
• Scrotum holds and protects the testicles.
• Testicle produces sperms and hormones.
• Bladder stores urine.
• Seminal vesicle produces fluids that make up a large portion of semen.
• Vas deferens carries sperm out of the testes.

Female Reproductive System

• Vagina is a passage way for menstrual fluid and urine, also used for sexual intercourse and childbirth
• Cervix is a narrow muscular opening that controls entry to the uterus and prevents the fetus from falling out
• Ovary produces eggs (ova) and hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone.
• Fallopian Tube transports eggs from ovary to uterus
• Uterus is a muscular organ where a fertilized egg implants and develops during pregnancy

Menstrual Cycle

• A normal menstrual period lasts 3-8 days and occurs every 21-35 days.
• The menstrual cycle has four phases: menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and luteal phase.
• Menstruation involves shedding the top layer of the endometrium, lasting 2-6 days
• The follicular phase involves growth of ovarian follicles and secretion of oestrogen
• Ovulation involves the release of an egg occurring around day 14 of a 28 day cycle
• The luteal phase involves the development of the corpus luteum, which secretes progesterone

Puberty:

• Puberty is when sexual reproduction in a human being can only begin.
• It marks the stage of adolescence in which the body becomes capable of reproduction.
• Common indicators of puberty include pimples and voice changes in males.
• Puberty is a period of rapid physical and emotional growth and changes in the body.
• It is the start of the time when a girl is capable of becoming a mother and a boy a father.
• Puberty begins at ages 11-13 for girls and 12-14 for boys
• Reproductive cells production in the reproductive system marks the beginning of puberty.
• Reproductive organs release sex hormones into the bloodstream during puberty.
• These hormones are responsible for growth spurts and other emotional and physical changes.
• In males, testes start to produce sperm and male sex hormones.
• Males grow facial and pubic hair, and hair at the armpits and chest
• Boys develop a more muscular body with an enlarged penis and a voice box that causes their voice to break.
• In females, the ovaries begin to produce female sex hormones and release mature eggs.
• Female breasts grow larger, hips become wider and rounder, and hair grows at the pubic regions and armpits.
• Girls start to menstruate during puberty.

Fertilization

• Fertilization is a new individual formed through the union of egg and sperm.
• During sexual intercourse, the penis becomes erect, hard, and enlarged for insertion into the vagina.
• Semen deposit millions of sperm in the vagina
• Sperm travel from the vagina up through the cervix, into the uterus, and reach the fallopian tubes.
• If a mature egg is waiting, one sperm successful fertilizes it

Reproduction

• Reproduction is a characteristic of life, essential for species survival, to colonize new habitats and survive changing environmental conditions
• The purpose of male reproductive system organs are to produce, maintain, and transport sperm and protective fluid and discharge sperm withing the female reproductive tract during sex.
• Other functions include producing and secreting male sex hormones.
• The male reproductive system depends on hormones to function.
• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are made in the pituitary gland
• FSH is necessary to produce sperm (spermatogenesis)
• Testosterone is the main sex hormone that helps individuals assigned male at birth (AMAB)
• Testosterone helps with developing certain characteristics, including muscle mass and sex drive
• The male reproductive system includes the penis, scrotum, testes, epididymis, vas deferens, prostate, and seminal vesicles

Male Anatomy

• Most of the male reproductive system is located outside of the body.
• External structures include the penis, scrotum, and testicles
• The penis has three parts: the root, the body, and the glans.
• The glans is also called the head of the penis, and is covered with a loose layer of skin called foreskin.
• Foreskin is sometimes removed in a procedure called circumcision
• The urethra opening is at the tip of the penis and is the tube that transports semen and urine.
• The glans contains a number of sensitive nerve endings.
• The body of the penis is cylindrical in shape and consists of three circular shaped chambers made of sponge-like tissue.
• These chambers fill with blood when the man is sexually aroused, causing the penis to become rigid and erect.
• Semen contains sperms (reproductive cells) and is expelled (ejaculated) through the end of the penis when the man reaches sexual climax (orgasm).
• When the penis is erect, urine flow is blocked from the urethra, allowing only semen to be ejaculated at orgasm.
• Seminiferous Tubules are testes coiled masses of tubes responsible for producing sperm cells
• The epididymis is a long, coiled tube that rests on the backside of each testicle and stores sperm cells
• The job of the epididymis is to bring the sperm to maturity.
• Sperm that emerge from the testes are immature and incapable of fertilization.
• During sexual arousal, contractions force the sperm into the vas deferens.
• The vas deferens is a long, muscular tube that travels from the epididymis into the pelvic cavity
• The vas deferens transports mature sperm to the urethra
• Urethra carries urine and semen to outside of the body
• The seminal vesicles are sac-like pouches that attach to the vas deferens and produce a sugar-rich fluid
• The prostate gland contains additional fluid to ejaculate.
• The bulbourethral glands produce a clear, slippery fluid that empties directly into the urethra and serves to lubricate urethra

Male Health

• Painful ejaculation or blood in the semen can be a symptom of prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction
• Erectile dysfunction (ED) can damage nerves that control erections
• erectile dysfunction can prevent the spongy tissue in the penis from relaxing and trapping blood
• Prostate cancer can impact the penis and other parts of the male reproductive system.
• Blood flow restriction limits blood flow to the penis

The Female Reproductive System

• The female reproductive system is essential for reproduction and involves several organs
• Organs include the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina.
• The ovaries produce eggs (female gametes) and estrogen and progesterone
• These hormones regulate various reproductive functions.
• Eggs released from the ovary during ovulation travel through the uterine tubes to the uterus.
• If the egg is fertilized by a sperm, it may implant in the uterus and develop into a fetus.
• The menstrual cycle, typically lasting 28 days, prepares the body for pregnancy

Menstrual Anatomy

• Ovaries produce eggs and sex hormones
• Fallopian Tubes 2 thin muscular tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus, and allow egg to travel to the uterus
• Uterus (the womb) lining thickens w blood and other substances
• Cervix lower point of the uterus, that connects the uterus to the vagina
• Vagina muscular tube connecting the Cervix to the outside

Menstrual Cycle Phases

• Menstrual cycle begins when you get your period or menstruate.
• A typical cycle lasts between 24 and 38 days
• The endometrial lining of the uterus thickens with blood and tissue and if there is no pregnancy, it is shed, resulting in a period.
• If sperm doesn't fertilize after egg is released from fallopian tubes, pregnancy will not occur.
• Menopause usually starts between ages 45 and 55
• Periods typically stop by age 51 to 52
• The lining gets rebuilt on ovaries by production of egg inside the egg-containing sacs and oestrogen from follicles
• During ovulation, middle of the cycle releases the egg and stimulates luteinizing hormone (stimulates release of a mature egg)
• The oestrogen and progesterone have a peak.