REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

THE HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

● The human reproductive system is the key to procreation and the survival of the
human race. It deals with the beginning of new life.

REVIEW
Mitosis - the type of cell division that occurs in non-reproductive cells.
- Produces exact copies of the parent cell
Meiosis - is cell division that occurs in reproductive cells; gametes.
- Produces egg and sperm cells with half the genetic material of the parent cells.
- 23 chromosomes are contained in gametes; this is so that when egg and sperm
meet, they produce offspring with 46 chromosomes.

THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

● Unlike in females, most of the organs of the male reproductive system lie outside the
body.

What are the functions of these organs?

1. to produce, maintain, and transport sperm cell
2. to discharge the sperm into the female reproductive system during
intercourse, and
3. to produce and secrete male sex hormones for maintaining the male
reproductive system

EXTERNAL ORGANS OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

PENIS
● The external reproductive organ, urethra passes through the penis and allows
urine and semen to exit the body.
● the male external sexual organ used during intercourse. It is cylindrical in shape
and contains sponge-like tissues.
- These tissues contain many chambers that are filled with blood when a male
is sexually aroused.
 - When a male is sexually aroused, the penis becomes erect which allows the
penetration into the vagina.
- Semen which contains bilions of sperms is ejaculated at the end of the penis
during sexual climax known as orgasm.

SCROTUM
● a sac or pouch which holds the testes.
- The function of the scrotum is to maintain the proper temperature of the
testes. (slightly cooler than body temperature )
- Sperm is destroyed unless a temperature of 97° is maintained.
● a loose pouch sac like skin that hangs behind and below the penis.
- It covers the testes (testicles) and many nerves and blood cells.
- It acts as a climate control system for the testes for the normal
development of the sperm cell.

INTERNAL ORGANS OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

BLADDER
● holds urine prior to urination.
- Urine leaves the bladder via the urethra.
- Not part of reproductive system

URETHRA
● tube which allows urine and semen to exit the body.
- Connects to the bladder
● an 8-10 inch long muscular tube
- It passes through the prostate and ends at the tip of the penis or the
external urethral orifice.
- Urine that is excreted out of the body also passes through the urethra.

PROSTATE GLAND
● gland that secretes fluid which is a component of semen.
● a walnut-sized exocrine gland that is found at the inferior end of the bladder and
surrounds the urethra.
- It produces a large portion of fluid that is milky white, and contains protein,
enzymes, and other chemicals that supports and protects the sperm during
ejaculation.
- The prostate also contains smooth muscles that constrict preventing the
flow of semen or urine.

VAS DEFERENS (ductus deferens)

● a tube which connects the testes to the urethra and allows semen to exit the
body.
● a muscular tube which is the passageway of the sperm cell from the epididymis
into the abdominal cavity and to the ejaculatory organs.

TESTES (testicles)
● two glands which produce sperm and hormones (testosterone)
 ● the male reproductive organ.
- It is an oval-shaped organ about 4.5 cm long.
- Inside the testes are the seminiferous tubules that produce sperm cells.
- The testes also produces testosterone, a primary male sex hormone

EPIDIDYMIS
● a thread-like tubule that is connected to the testes.
- It functions as a storage area of sperm cells that is wrapped around the
posterior and superior edge of the testes.
- Sperms produced by the testes are moved to the epididymis where it
continues to mature before moving to the other reproductive organs.

SEMINAL VESICLES
● pair of lumpy exocrine glands about 2 inches in length located posterior to the
urinary bladder and anterior to the rectum.
- It produces and stores seminal fluid.
- The seminal fluid contains protein and mucus which is alkaline to help the
sperm survive in an acidic vagina.
- It also has fructose which feeds the sperm cell so that they can live long
enough to fertilize the egg cell.
- The vas deferens passes through the prostate and joins with the urethra at
the ejaculatory duct.

EJACULATORY DUCT
● also contains duct from the seminal vesicles
- During ejaculation, the ejaculatory duct opens and expels semen to the
urethra.
- The semen is a mixture of sperm and seminal fluid.

PROSTATE GLAND
● a walnut-sized exocrine gland that is found at the inferior end of the bladder and
surrounds the urethra.
- It produces a large portion of fluid that is milky white, and contains protein,
enzymes, and other chemicals that supports and protects the sperm during
ejaculation.
- The prostate also contains smooth muscles that constrict preventing the flow
of semen or urine.

COWPER’S GLAND (bulbourethral gland)

● are a pair of pea-sized exocrine glands located inferior to prostate and anterior to
the anus. It secretes an alkaline fluid to the urethra.
- This fluid lubricates the urethra and neutralizes the urine.
- During sexual arousal, the fluid is poured to the urethra before ejaculation to
prepare the urethra for the flow of semen.
 THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

● The female reproductive system is located just below the pelvic cavity,

It carries the following responsibilities:

1. produces egg cell, the female sex cell
2. receives the sperm cell from the male, and
3. provides nourishment and protection for the growth of the new individual.
● The female reproductive system has two parts, the external genitalia and the
internal genitalia.

THE FEMALE EXTERNAL GENITALIA

Vulva - external part of the female reproductive organ

- It is found between the legs and covers the opening of the vagina.
Mons Pubis - a fleshy area just above the vaginal opening
Labia - two pairs of skin flaps that surrounds the vaginal opening
- Labia means "lips."
- Labia Minora - inner lips
- Labia Majora - outer lips
Clitoris - a sensory organ,
- located at the front of the vulva where the folds of the labia join.

● Between the labia is an opening toward the urethra and vagina. When girls become
sexually mature, the mons pubis and outer labia become covered with pubic hair.
 THE FEMALE INTERNAL GENITALIA

VAGINA
● also called the birth canal
- a tube leading from the uterus to the outside of the body.
- Where the sperm enters
- It is acidic
● the female sex organ
- It is a muscular hollow tube that extends to the uterus which is about 3-5
inches.
- Its muscular walls allow it to contract or expand during childbirth.
- These muscular walls are lined with mucus membrane that keeps it
moist.
- The vagina serves as an entrance for the penis during intercourse.
- It is the passageway during childbirth and menstrual flow.
- The opening of the vagina is covered by a thin flap of tissue known as the
hymen.
- During the first time of intercourse the hymen is torn apart which
causes pain and sometimes bleeding.

CERVIX
● the lower portion of the uterus; where the vagina and uterus meet.
- Dilates for the delivery of baby
● attaches the vagina to the uterus
- It is found at the lower part of the uterus and is made up of strong muscles.
- Its function is to allow the menstrual flow from the uterus and vagina.
- During sexual intercourse, it directs the sperm cell to the uterus.

UTERUS
● a hollow, fist-sized organ located between the bladder and rectum
- Where the zygote implants and the embryo develops
● Commonly known as the womb
- the uterus looks like an upside-down pear.
- It is made up of strong muscles that can contract or expand to
accommodate the fetus and to help expel the baby during childbirth.

FALLOPIAN TUBES (oviducts)

● are two tubes connecting the uterus with the ovaries
- site of fertilization
● Located at the upper corners of the uterus
- connected to the ovaries.
- There are two fallopian tubes attached to the corner end of the uterus.
- The egg cell is fertilized by the sperm cell in the fallopian tube which is then
delivered to the uterus.

OVARIES
● small organs on the ends of the Fallopian tubes responsible for the production and
release of eggs (ova-pl).
 - Females are born with all of the eggs they will ever produce.
- Ovaries alternate the release of eggs each month.
- Like testes, the ovaries produce hormones called estrogen.
- This release of the ova is called ovulation.
● two oval-shaped organs that lie in the upper right and left of the uterus.
- They produce, store, and release eggs in the fallopian tube during
ovulation.
- produces the female hormones estrogen and progesterone.

THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE

● The menstrual cycle is a complete cycle of changes that occur in the female body
due to rise and fall of estrogen and progesterone.
● The cycle prepares the female body for potential pregnancy.
● The cycle takes place every month when a girl turns 10 years old until 50 years.
● The menstrual cycle typically lasts 28 days; approximately a month.
- One cycle is the amount of time from the beginning of one period to the
beginning of the next period.
● The beginning of a period is marked by the release of the blood and lining from the
inside of the uterus.
- This flow of blood typically lasts 3-7 days and is called menstruation.
● After menstruation, the ovaries release hormones that tell the uterus to grow a
new lining and prepare to receive a new egg.
● As the uterus prepares a new lining, one of the ovaries releases an egg. This is
called ovulation.
- Ovulation occurs about halfway through a woman's cycle.
● The egg travels through the Fallopian tube. If it is not fertilized it breaks down and is
released with the lining and blood of the uterus.

THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE AND FERTILIZATION

● If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, the egg will implant in the lining of the uterus
and begin to develop.
Zygote - The first cells of a new organism; the time from fertilization to implantation.
Embryo - The zygote is called an embryo from implantation to 8 weeks.
Fetus - After 8 weeks of development, the embryo is known as a fetus.
*To get from zygote to fetus, mitosis and differentiation occurs
PLACENTA
● Site of diffusion of nutrients and gases between mother and developing child
● Mother and developing child's blood never mix.

DNA AND RNA

THE VOCABULARY OF DNA

Genetics - The study of genes & heredity
Trait - inherited characteristic determined by the presence and expression of dominant
and/or recessive alleles.
Gene - a segment of DNA that codes for a protein, which in turn codes for a trait skin
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
● often called the blueprint of life.
● In simple terms, DNA contains the instructions For making proteins within the cell.

DNA FACTS
● Chromosomes are made of DNA
● a molecule that stores genetic information in cells
- Copies itself exactly for new cells

PROTEINS
● Responsible for all cell structures and functions
- Made of long chains of amino acids
● There are 20 amino acids in the body
● Proteins are responsible for: Hair, skin, hormones, muscle movement, antibodies,
chemical reactions, oxygenation of cells.

● Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins took DNA X-ray photos that were essential to
the discovery of the double helix of DNA by James Watson and Francic Crick in 1953
● When Watson, Crick and Wilkins got their Nobel prize awards in 1962, Rosalind
Franklin was cheated of deserved recognition in part by her early death from cancer
in 1958

WHY IS THE STUDY OF DNA IMPORTANT?

● It's essential to all life on earth
1. Medical Benefits - disease detection, treatment, and prevention
2. Development of Crops
3. Forensics

DNA STRUCTURE
● DNA is a polymer (composed of repeating subunits called nucleotides)
● 2 long strands
- Each a chain of nucleotides

NUCLEOTIDES
● Nucleotides consists of: Phosphate, Carbon Sugar (deoxyribose), Nitrogen Base
● Adenine and Guanine are PURINES
- they each have two rings of carbon and nitrogen atoms
● Thymine and Cytosine are PYRIMIDINES
- they each have one ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms

DNA STRAND
● Each nucleotide bonds to the next one to form a strand.
- The two strands twist around a central axis to form a double helix.
● Sides of the ladder alternate phosphate and sugar (deoxyribose)
- Rungs are held together by Hydrogen bonds
BASE PAIR RULE
● Adenine can only bond with Thymine
- A-T or T-A (2 H bonds)
● Cytosine can only bond with Guanine
- C-G or G-C (3 H bonds)

NITROGENOUS BASES
TYPES OF NITROGENOUS BASES
A - Adenine
T - Thymine
C - Cytosine
G - Guanine

● Those 4 bases (ATCG) have endless combinations

- Just like the letters of the alphabet can combine to make an infinite number
of words.
● The two strands are said to be complimentary
- That means that if you have GAATAC on one side you will have CTTATG

REPLICATION
● The process by which DNA makes a copy of itself
● In DNA replication enzymes work to unwind and separate the double helix and
add complementary nucleotides to the exposed strands
● DNA replication is semi-conservative.
- When it makes a copy, one half of the old strand is ALWAYS kept in the new
strand. This helps reduce the number of copy errors.

Why does DNA need to copy?

- Cells divide for an organism to grow or reproduce
- Every new cell needs a copy of DNA

DNA REPLICATION
DNA Helicases - break H-bonds linking bases
DNA polymerases - move along each of the strands, adding nucleotides, according to base
pairing rules
● The result is two exact copies of the original DNA
● Each new double helix is composed of one original DNA strand and one new
strand.
- Semi-conservative

TRANSLATION
● DNA is in the nucleus
- To make proteins, DNA must get its instructions to the ribosomes who make
proteins.
- To transport its instructions, it uses Messenger RNA (mRNA)

RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

● Consists only of one strand of nucleotides
 ● Has ribose (a 5C sugar) NOT deoxyribose
● Has uracil (U) as a nitrogenous base NOT thymine

DNA BY THE NUMBERS

● Each cell has about 3 meters of DNA.
● The average human has 300 trillion cells.
● The average human has enough DNA to go from the earth to the sun more than 400
times.
- The earth is 150 billion meters or 93 million miles away from the sun
● DNA has a diameter of only 0.000000002 meters

BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

CHARLES DARWIN AND EVOLUTION

● In the early 1800s, French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck developed a more
concrete theory about organic evolution.
He stressed two important theme in his work:
- First, he stated that animals adapt to the changes in the environment. He cited
that giraffes necks elongate as a result of them trying to reach leaves in higher
places
- Second, bodies and all their different parts make it probable for the "organic
movement" in animals, and that life (as how it come to be) is organized and
structured in an orderly manner.
● Lamarck’s ideas about the relationship of environment and evolution helped set the
stage for Darwin' theory of evolution.
● Charles Darwin was born in 1809, the same year that Lamarck published his ideas
on evolution. At the age of 22, Darwin ventured on an expedition collecting
thousands of specimens, fossils, and other living animals and plants.
● After five years of voyage, Darwin strongly questioned the belief that Earth and
organisms are unchanging and have been specifically created a few thousands of
years prior.
● He believed that Earth was indeed very old and constantly changing.
● Throughout the years and after writing several essays, Darwin offered a great deal of
evidence supporting evolution.
● He described his theory of natural selection, which supported and provided an
explanation of how evolution occurs.

EVIDENCE AND EVOLUTION

● Darwin’s “On the origin of Species” paged the way of continuing knowledge and
biological research up to date.
Most of the evolutionary evidences were grouped in the following categories:
Fossil records - Darwin collected traces and remains of organisms that lived long ago.
- Fossils are usually found in the sedimentary layers which means the more the
layers the more evidence there is of different organisms
Biochemical evidence - The nitrogen base sequences in the genetic code are the same in
almost all organisms.
Comparative anatomy - is seen mainly in the biological structure of animals.
 - Most have similar structures but have different functions.
Observable events - Changes have been observed in species over time.

WHAT IS EVOLUTION?
Evolution - defined as any change in the inheritable traits within a certain population
across generations.
- These inheritable traits pertain to physical aspects such as color of petals in
flowers, spots on the wings of butterflies, or instinctive behaviours like migration
patterns of animals, among others.
● DNA plays an important role in the evolution process. Changes in the genetic code
affect the characteristics and traits in the succeeding generations. As a certainty.
traits are manifested and are carried on in the next generations, evolution can be
observed.

NATURAL SELECTION
● Darwin recognized that all species produced quite a number of offspring.
● He reasoned that organisms possessing adaptive characteristics have a better
chance to survive and reproduce, compared to individuals who do not have such
characteristics.
● Darwin sought the basic and central mechanism of evolution of reproduction in a
process called natural selection.
● The environment plays an important role in filtering changes and variations in traits.
● Favored traits are being expressed compared to Unfavored traits which become
less and unlikely expressed in the succeeding generations.
● Natural selection can be summed up through a famous Filipino line: “Matira ang
matibay."
Artificial selection - is the selective breeding of domesticated plants and animals with
desirable characteristics.
Genetic variation - is extensive in most populations.
- It is defined as the difference between cells, individual organisms, and/or groups of
organisms of any species caused by their genotypic and phenotypic variation.
- Factors that affect genetic variation can be linked to mutation, which is the
permanent change in the chemical structure of a gene.
Variation - may be expressed largely in physical appearance but can also be observed in
behavior, metabolism, or mode of reproduction.

SPECIATION
● Most of Darwin's theory of evolution focused on natural selection and the gradual
adaptation of a population in a given environment (microevolution).
Speciation - the evolutionary process in which new species arise.
- It is the process wherein a group of one species will acquire new characteristics, and
eventually make an entirely

RELATED CONCEPTS TO SPECIATION

Species - comes from the Latin word “specio” for “kind" or "appearance," as we can easily
observe and learn to distinguish between the different kinds of animals and plants.
Taxonomy - a branch of biology that deals with naming and classifying the diverse forms of
life
 - Carolus Linneaus - the father of taxonomy,
- introduced a binomial system of naming organisms - the Linnaean
classification which is still used at resent.
● The two-word name given to an organism, also known as scientific name, consists
of the genus and species where an organism belongs.
- In Zea mays, the scientific name of corn, Zea is the genus and mays is the
species.
- The species, therefore, occupies the lowest taxonomic rank in the biological
classification of living things.
Biological Species Concept - views species as a population or a group of populations
whose members have the ability and potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
Morphological species concept - how scientists were able to identify more than 1.8
million species.
- Scientists make use of measurable phenotypic rates.
Ecological species concept - identifies species based on the ecological environments or
niche.
Polygenic species concept - defines organisms and species based on unique genetic
history.
- Biologists compare a species genetic code and physical characteristics with other
organisms.
Adaptive radiation - a process wherein the evolution of species from a common ancestor
diversify rapidly into different new forms due to changes in the environment.
- Being exposed to a new environment makes new resources available, creating and
opening various opportunities and challenges for the survivors.

● The final mechanism of speciation is the tempo of speciation.

- Two models have developed for interpreting and analysing evolutionary
patterns. One model indicates that differences in population gradually evolve
as a result of organisms adapting to their environments.
- The formation of new species gradually evolve from their parent or ancestor.
Gradualism - a slow, gradual accumulation of changes over time.
- Over a short period of time, it is difficult to notice.
Punctuated equilibrium - the change comes in spurts.
- There may be periods of no very little change then all of a sudden huge changes
take place through mutations.
Mutations - changes in the DNA that can be passed on to succeeding generations