Reproductive System Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is a gonad? What are the female and male gonads called?
Organ in which sex cells develop
Ovaries and testes
What are gametes? What are the male and female gametes called?
Sex cells - has 23 chromosomes
Ova and sperm
What are some characteristics of an ovum? (Shape, size, what is in the cell)
Round, unable to move by itself
Contains a nucleus, often has stored food in the form of a yolk
Larger than sperm
What are some characteristics of sperm? (Shape, size, what is in the cell)
Made of a head, a middle piece, and a flagellum
The head has a nucleus with the chromosomes and acrosome
The middle has mitochondria so it has the energy to move
Flagellum enables sperm to swim
What is an acrosome?
On the head of the sperm
Has enzyme which help the sperm penetrate the egg
What is the scrotum? Why is it outside the body?
External punch that has two testes
Outside the body - 1-2 degrees cooler, which is ideal sperm production temperature
What are the seminiferous tubules?
Inside the testes where sperm is formed
Next stop: epididymis
What is the epididymis?
Storage area on the upper part of each testes where the sperm mature
What is the vas deferens?
Tubes that carry the sperm out. Along the way, different glands add fluids to the sperm to nourish it and provide a means of transport
What is semen?
Mixture of sperm and fluids
What three glands add fluids to semen?
Seminal vesicles
Cowper’s glands
Prostate gland
What are the urethra and penis?
Extends from the bladder to outside via the penis, which is specialized for internal fertilization
Activated sperm is carried out of the body with involuntary muscle contraction
What does testosterone do? Where is it made?
It is made in the testes
Controls male secondary sexual characteristics, like facial hair and deepening of voice
What are follicles?
Small sacks that store immature ovaries
What is ovulation?
When an egg matures and is released from a follicle in an ovary
What is an oviduct?
Short tube from the ovary to the uterus that the egg travels in
Has cilia that sweep the egg along
Fertilization happens here
What is the uterus?
Hollow thick-walled oval shaped
Where development of the fertilized egg happens
What is the cervix?
Narrow neck of the uterus
Connects to the vagina
What is the vagina/birth canal?
Tube leading to outside of the body
What hormones does the ovary produce? What do they do?
Estrogen and progesterone
They control puberty and expression of secondary sexual characteristics like growth of body hair and mammary glands
What happens during the follicle stage? How long does it normally last? Which hormones are present, and what do they do?
10-14 days
FSH - stimulates follicle to get an egg ready, which stimulates the ovary to release…
Estrogen - causes the uterus to thicken its lining and get ready to host the potential embryo
What happens during ovulation? How long does it normally last? Which hormone is present and what does it do?
Egg is released to oviduct
1 day
LH - causes ovulation, and results in formation of a corpus luteum
What happens during the corpus luteum stage? How long does it normally last? Which hormone is present and what does it do?
10-14 days
Yellow tissue fills the egg
Progesterone - maintains thickness of lining of uterus in case pregnancy occurs
What happens during menstruation? How long does it normally last? What happens to the levels of the hormones present?
3-5 days
Lining is shed
Estrogen and Progesterone drop
FSH rises
