REALANATOMY
20 Reproductive Systems
321
e organs of the
male and female reproductive (genital) systems have, as their
primary role, the responsibility of producing the specialized
cells called gametes and making it possible for these cells to
unite to form a new individual. e male gametes, the
sperm, arise in the testes from meiotic divisions in the
walls of the numerous seminiferous tubules. From here
hundreds of millions of sperm make their way during
ejaculation through a series of tubes — rete testis, e erent
ductules, epididymis, ductus deferens, ejaculatory duct,
prostatic urethra, intermediate urethra, spongy urethra —
that move the sperm out of the male genital system and
introduce them into the female genital system. During this
passage secretions are added to the sperm by the prostate,
seminal, and bulbourethral glands to help protect and
nurture the sperm in their journey to unite with the
female gamete.
e sperm are introduced by the male intro-
mittent organ, the penis, into the female vagina,
which serves the dual function of being a penile
receptacle and the birth canal. Sperm deposited
in the fornices of the vagina then enter the os
ofthe uterine cervix and propel themselves to
the top of the uterine cavity. Here the sperm
enter the openings into the uterine tubes where
they continue their journey toward the ovulated
female gamete.
A er rupturing the surface of the ovary in an
event called ovulation, the female gamete, the primary
oocyte, is swept into the ostium of the uterine tube by
the ngerlike mbriae. Ciliary action of the uterine tube
mucosa carry the the oocyte down the uterine tube
where the sperm and oocyte make contact. If a sperm
penetrates the oocyte’s surrounding cells and mem-
branes, then fertilization occurs and the DNA of the two
cells unite to form a new individual called a zygote. Cell
divisions give rise to the embryo, and ciliary actions and
muscular contractions in the wall of the tube move the
embryo into the uterus, the mammalian equivalent of a
nest, where the remainder of development will occur.
Find more information
about the reproductive
system in
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