Reproductive Physiology and Sexual Differentiation Quiz

Human Reproductive Physiology and Sexual Differentiation

• Human reproduction involves both procreation and pleasure, and is characterized by physiological and psychological satisfaction.
• Males produce millions of spermatozoa continuously, while females produce a single oocyte approximately once a month.
• Fertilization occurs when a sperm enters the female reproductive tract and fertilizes the oocyte. The developing embryo implants in the uterus and the placenta develops.
• The female breast differentiates during pregnancy to allow lactation and breastfeeding.
• The pituitary, gonadal, and placental hormones orchestrate the complex events in male and female reproductive physiology.
• Sexual differentiation occurs in utero, but final maturation is completed during puberty.
• Sex determination involves genetic, gonadal, and phenotypic processes.
• Genetic sex is determined by the sex chromosomes, with males having XY and females having XX.
• Gonadal sex is determined by the presence of testes in males and ovaries in females.
• Phenotypic sex is determined by the characteristics of the internal and external genitalia.
• The presence or absence of the SRY gene on the Y chromosome determines gonadal differentiation.
• Testosterone and Müllerian-inhibiting substance (MIS) secreted by the testes cause differentiation of male internal and external genitalia, while the absence of these hormones leads to the development of female genitalia.