Male Reproductive System – Parts and Basic Information

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Male Reproductive System

Male Reproductive System:

Parts of the Male Reproductive System:

The male reproductive system consists of

  • A pair of testes
  • Accessory glands and
  • A system of ducts

The male reproductive organs are the testes that produce spermatozoa or sperms.

Testes secrete male sex hormone named as testosterone.

What are sperms?

Sperms are the haploid male gametes consisting of a single set of chromosomes.

Anatomy of Testes:

Inside each testis, several lobules are present of which each lobule has several tubules which are called as seminiferous tubules. The seminiferous tubules are lined by epithelial cells, this lining is called as the germinal epitheium. They undergo many mitotic divisions and one meiotic division to produce spermatozoa which are released into the lumen of the tubule.

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The duct system consists of vasa efferentia which collect spermatozoa from the seminiferous tubules. Vasa efferentia continues as epididymis in which sperms are stored temporarily.

Sperms are moved into the tubule called as vas deferens and then into the urethra from the epididymis. Sperms are expelled out of the body through the urethra. Of all these sperms, only one sperm fertilises the ovum and the remaining sperms degenerate. The accessory glands consists of one prostate gland, two cowper’s glands and two seminal vescicles. Secretions of these glands are called as semen and are mixed with spermatozoa in the duct system. These secretions keep the sperms alive by providing nutrients to the sperms. They also provide fluid medium for the free movement of the sperms.

Structure of Sperm

Structure of Sperms : Parts of Sperms

Human sperms are microscopic, minute and are motile.

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They have

  • an oval head piece
  • neck
  • middle piece and
  • a long end piece or tail

A large haploid nucleus is present in the oval head piece, it also consists of a sac like structure called as acrosome which helps in fertilisation. The neck is short and connects head piece and middle piece. Several mitochondria are present in the middle piece which produce energy for the movement of sperms. Tail piece helps in swimming of sperms to reach the ovum during fertilisation.

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Life span of Sperms:

Sperms live for a period of 1 to 3 days in the female reproductive system after that they die and degenerate. The production of sperms starts on the onset of puberty ( 14 to 15 years after birth) in man.

Testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone and leutinizing hormone, which are produced by the pituitary gland, stimulates the production of sperms.

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