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Reproductive Systems Flashcards

(93 cards)

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1
Q

The primary sexual characteristic is males is…

A

The penis.

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2
Q

The primary sexual characteristic in females is…

A

The vagina.

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3
Q

What are some secondary sexual characteristics in males and what are they triggered by?

A

Some include chest hair, deeper voice, lack of breasts, etc. Triggered by testosterone.

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4
Q

What are some secondary sexual characteristics in females and what are they triggered by?

A

Higher voice, breast development, curvy build, etc. Triggered by estrogen.

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5
Q

What is testosterone?

A

A hormone from the Y-chromosome that triggers the primary sexual characteristic in a male fetus, and later triggers the secondary characteristics at puberty. Testosterone stimulates spermatogenesis.

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6
Q

What is spermatogenesis?

A

The production of sperm, how sperm cells are made through meiosis.

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7
Q

What is the main function of the testes?

A

They are the main organ for spermatogenesis. They descend before birth.

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8
Q

What is the epididymis?

A

It stores sperm cells and brings them to maturity by giving them caps and tails.

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9
Q

What is the function of the urethra in the male reproductive system?

A

It is the tube that carries the sperm out of the body.

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10
Q

What is the function of the vas deferens?

A

They are tubes that carry the sperm to the urethra.

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11
Q

How many sperm are released at once, and how many reach the egg? Why is this significant?

A

300-400 million, only 100 reach egg. Very low odds of reaching egg means high sperm production.

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12
Q

How many mL of semen is released at once? Per mL of semen, how many sperm are infertile due to deformities and such?

A

3-4 mL semen released at once, 10-20 million sperm per mL are infertile.

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13
Q

What are the seminiferous tubules?

A

They are inside the testes. They are the site of spermatogenesis. 500 m of tubule per human male.

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14
Q

What are the seminal vesicles?

A

They make semen.

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15
Q

What are the components of semen?

A

60% of it is alkaline, fructose, and prostaglandins. It contains sperm.

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16
Q

What is the function of the scrotum?

A

It is separated from the body to help keep the temperature of the testicles lower than body temperature.

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17
Q

What temperature do the testes need to be and why?

A

1-3 degrees Celsius lower than body temperature. This allows for the best production of sperm: Too hot, and sperm can be damaged.

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18
Q

What does erectile tissue do?

A

In early development, it is similar in both sexes. But later, it stimulates the erection of the penis in males or the vagina in females.

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19
Q

What is the function of the ovary? How many does each woman have?

A

The ovary is the site of oogenesis/where eggs are made. (Oogenesis starts before birth.) It is where meiosis happens to make gametes. Each woman has two ovaries.

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20
Q

What is the oviduct?

A

(Similar to vas deferens in males) The oviduct in females is a tube where eggs go when released from a follicle in the ovary. It is also the site of fertilization.

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21
Q

The oviduct is also called:

A

The fallopian tube.

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22
Q

What is clitoris?

A

It is erectile tissue in females. When sexual stimulation occurs, it fills with blood and causes the vagina to become erect.

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23
Q

After fertilization in the fallopian tubes, where does the egg go?

A

The uterus.

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24
Q

How long is each ovary?

A

3 cm.

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25
Ovaries contain...
Follicles.
26
What is the function of the follicles in the ovary?
The follicles are where the eggs develop. Follicle cells form around the egg to prepare them to leave (provides nourishment, blood flow, etc.). When ready, follicle releases egg.
27
What is corpus luteum?
The follicle cells that surrounded the egg. They are recycled after egg is released.
28
About how big is the uterus?
Fist-sized.
29
How many layers make up the uterine wall?
2 layers.
30
What happens to each of the two layers of the uterine wall?
The one layer germinates, and the innermost layer is shed at the end of the menstrual cycle.
31
The innermost lining of the uterus is called?
The endometrium.
32
What is the job of the endometrium layer in the uterus?
It prepares for the fertilized egg, which will implant in it. If the egg is not fertilized, the lining is shed.
33
What is the cervix and what does it do?
The cervix is the lower most part of the uterus and is made up of strong muscles. It directs sperm into the uterus and it directs menstrual blood out of the uterus.
34
The cervix has a certain type of muscle. What is this muscle and what does it do?
It is a sphincter muscle, and the sphincter closes if fertilization happens.
35
What is the vagina?
The primary sexual characteristic in girls. It is rich in glycogen, and it has bacteria to decrease the pH in order to decrease the risk of pathogenic or yeast infection.
36
How does the vagina's low pH affect sperm?
The sperm have prostaglandin to let them survive in the vagina's low pH environment. They cannot survive very long and must reach oviduct to fertilize.
37
All fetuses develop in the presence of this hormone:
Estrogen.
38
Since all fetuses develop in the presence of estrogen, what determines the baby's sex?
Testosterone from the Y-chromosome.
39
What are bi-potential gonads?
Gonads of the fetus that can be either testes or ovaries because testosterone has not yet determined the fetus' sex.
40
What happens to the duct in the male gonad?
It degenerates.
41
Once the testes form, what do they do? Do ovaries do something similar?
The testes move down to the scrotum after they form. The ovaries, however, do not move.
42
When can the fetus' gender be determined and why?
At 16 weeks, because that's when the genitalia are visible.
43
What is ovulation?
The release of the second oocyte at approximately day 14 of the menstrual cycle.
44
What is the ovum?
The mature egg cell, released at day 14. After it is released, it goes to the oviduct and the follicle is recycled.
45
What body system controls hormones?
Endocrine system.
46
What part of the brain helps control hormones? What gland does it control?
The hypothalamus, which controls the main gland: The pituitary gland.
47
What is FSH?
Follicle-stimulating hormone to stimulate meiosis of egg cell. It peaks at day 14 to get the egg ready for fertilization.
48
FSH is inhibited by...
Estrogen.
49
What is LH?
Luteinizing hormone: stimulates ovulation in girls and testosterone production in boys. Peaks at day 14 to trigger ovulation in girls.
50
In humans and primates, the 28-day cycle that includes preparation, ovulation, and shedding of the lining is called?
The menstrual cycle.
51
How is the menstrual cycle in humans and primates different from the "menstrual" cycle in other animals?
In other animals, it is called the estrus cycle. In the estrus cycle, the endometrium is reabsorbed instead of shed, the vagina is only receptive and fertile during heat/ovulation.
52
What is estrogen? When does it peak and what hormone does it affect?
A hormone that stimulates the growth and maturation of the follicle and the growth of the uterine lining. It peaks just before ovulation, and it inhibits FSH.
53
At what day in the menstrual cycle does the uterine lining start to grow?
Day 5.
54
What is progesterone?
A hormone that stimulates the uterine lining. Progesterone levels rise after ovulation.
55
At the end of the month, if there is no fertilized egg, what happens to progesterone levels? What happens if there is a fertilized egg?
No fertilization=progesterone levels drop. If egg is fertilized, levels of progesterone stay high because of high estrogen. It also causes low LH to prevent ovulation with a fertilized egg already in the uterus.
56
What five steps occur in the process involving a fertilized egg?
1. ovulation 2. fertilization at fallopian tube 3. cleavage starts 4. cleavage continues until zygote reaches endometrium 5. blastocyst/embryo implants in endometrium lining
57
When the sperm binds to the egg, what does it trigger?
It triggers the end of meiosis: the completion of anaphase and telophase 2. When sperm meets egg, division (mitosis) starts.
58
How does division after the sperm reaches the egg work?
The ovum and the polar body attached to the ovum will divide unequally. The two nuclei, one from the sperm and one from the ovum, join together. Mitosis starts and the embryo forms.
59
When one sperm meets the egg, what happens to the corona radiata?
The corona radiata, which protects the ovum, changes to prevent more sperm from reaching the egg. This occurs in the fallopian tube.
60
What are the first early stages of development for the fertilized egg?
1. fertilized egg 2. 4-cell stage 3. morula 4. blastula
61
What is an ectopic pregnancy?
After fertilization, the embryo which is undergoing mitosis implants in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. The fallopian tube is not equipped for a fetus. Pregnancy=unsuccessful.
62
What is one potential result of an ectopic pregnancy?
The fetus can block the fallopian tube and leave only one ovary available. Surgery may be an option in this instance.
63
What happens in an ideal implantation of the embryo?
The embryo ideally implants in the endometrium. It is embedded in the uterine lining.
64
What are trophoblasts?
Helper cells that begin making the placenta for the fetus.
65
What happens when the embryo makes contact with the endometrium?
The contact causes hCG to be released.
66
What is hCG?
Human chorion gonadotropin. It signals the recycled follicles (corpus luteum) to maintain estrogen+progestorone levels in order to prevent the shedding of the lining.
67
What is the placenta?
Maternal and fetal tissue to nourish developing fetus and remove nitrogenous waste. It separates the mom from the fetus.
68
What happens to the placenta when the baby is born?
The placenta is shed from the body.
69
Why is it important for the placenta to be thick and filled with blood?
It allows the fetus and mom to get close without touching so that the fetus can obtain what it needs from mom.
70
How can a disease be passed from a mother to a fetus?
If the pathogen penetrates the placenta, the fetus will contract the infection.
71
How does the fetus receive oxygen?
Thanks to the placenta, mom's blood and fetal blood never touch. However, mom's blood flows around the fetus and oxygen absorbs into fetal blood.
72
What does the umbilical cord do?
It carries blood vessels to the fetus to bring O2 in and CO2 out, along with other substances.
73
How is nitrogenous waste from the fetus dealt with?
The urea from the fetus is transferred to maternal blood. Mom's blood is then filtered by the kidneys. This is why pregnancy tests work.
74
At around 5 weeks of fetal development, what starts to happen? 14 weeks? 20?
5: start of heart development, hand and feet buds. 14: fingers and toes, brain becomes more developed. 20: starts looking more human, with more distinct characteristics.
75
At birth, which hormone increases first? What does that lead to?
Estrogen increases to trigger oxytocin, which stimulates the uterus to contract and the placenta to make prostaglandins.
76
After the prostaglandins are made, what happens at birth?
The prostaglandins trigger a positive feedback reaction to speed up the process by triggering the release of more oxytocin.
77
What happens to the contractions as you get closer to birth?
They increase.
78
During contractions, what are the three stages of birth?
1. Dilation of cervix to force out infant 2. Expulsion (delivery of infant) 3. Delivery of placenta
79
After birth, what two hormones are released by the hypothalamus of the mother and what are they for?
Oxytocin to get female ready to produce milk, and prolactin to stimulate milk production.
80
What are the benefits of breast-feeding a baby?
Breast milk is sterile, it has white blood cells and antibodies from mom, and breast-fed babies show decreased diseases and issues like heart issues, allergies, breathing issues, diabetes, obesity, and learning disabilities.
81
Describe the process of fertilization by Invitro.
Invitro fertilization: Harvest egg cells/follicles with a needle (can be stored for later). Add sperm to egg cell sample in a lab. Pick the best sample zygote and implant it using a needle into the ovary; hopefully it develops.
82
List six methods of birth control.
Hormonal treatment, abstinence, sterilization, prevention of implantation, barrier method, natural family planning.
83
What are some examples of hormonal birth control and how do they work?
Birth control pills or patches. These keep estrogen and progesterone levels high and constant to prevent ovulation.
84
What is the most surefire way to avoid getting pregnant?
Abstinence.
85
What is sterilization and what are some examples?
Prohibiting the release or production of egg or sperm. Ex: vasectomy, tubal ligation, essure.
86
What is a vasectomy?
Cutting and tying off male vas deferens, a form of sterilization.
87
What is tubal ligation?
Tying female fallopian tubes, a form of sterilization.
88
What is an essure?
A plastic rod inserted into fallopian tubes with small pointy ends designed to damage fallopian tissue. When tissue heals, it forms a callus around the rod to block the tubes.
89
What is the method of prevention of implantation and what are some examples?
It keeps blastocyst from implanting in uterus. Ex: IUD, RU486/morning after pill.
90
What is an IUD?
Intrauterine device- y-shaped, inserted in uterus. Stays in the body. The tips are covered with copper or hormonal substance to damage any fertilized zygote.
91
What is RU486/morning after pill?
The abortion pill. Not preventative, but it causes the abortion of a potential fetus after risky exposure.
92
What is the barrier method of birth control? Examples?
It stops sperm from meeting the egg/entering uterus. Ex: sponge in female with spermicidal jelly, cervical cap, diaphragm, condom (male: on penis, female: inside vagina), spermicidal jellies.
93
What is natural family planning?
Keeping track of menstrual cycle to determine the most likely time to conceive.

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