TG W7

The Reproductive System

4.1 Identify the major organs in the male and female reproductive systems

4.2 State the function of the major organs.

THURSDAY P5 L5

MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

It takes up to two months to make sperm.

Sperm cells start in the testes as spermatids (pre-sperm). The testes consist of a series of lobes, each containing seminiferous tubules with supportive tissue.
Involuntary muscular contractions move the spermatids from the testes to the epididymis.

3. In the epididymis, spermatids slowly grow older and mature. They grow a tail. They also lose some of the cytoplasm from the head. It is here that the spermatids mature, becoming sperm cells.

4. When sperm are mature, they can “swim.” The mature sperm are stored in the epididymis until it is time for them to leave the body.

5. Sperm leave the epididymis through the vas deferens. As they travel through the vas deferens, they pass by the prostate gland and seminal vesicle. The sperm mix with liquids (seminal fluid) from these organs, forming semen.

6. The semen travels through the urethra and leaves the body through the penis. A teaspoon of semen may contain as many as 500 million sperm.

7. During ejaculation the prostate and the bladder's sphincter muscle close the urethra up to the bladder to prevent semen from entering the bladder.