ZOOLOGY

THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE

SYSTEM
 THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM • The seminiferous tubules open into the vasa
efferentia through the rete testis.

• The vasa efferentia open into the epididymis ,

which leads to the vas deferens . The vas
deferens opens into the urethra along with a
duct from the seminal vesicle called the
ejaculatory duct.

• The ejaculatory duct stores the sperms and

transports them to the outside

• The urethra starts from the urinary bladder,

It consists of: extends through the penis and opens via the
urethral meatus
• A pair of testes
• Accessory glands and ducts • Accessory glands include:
• External genitalia
o A pair of seminal vesicles
o Prostate gland

TESTES o A pair of bulbourethral glands

• The secretions of these glands make up the

• Situated within the scrotum , which protects seminal plasma, and provide nutrition and a
the testes and also helps in maintaining the
medium of motility to the sperms.
temperature.

• Each testis is 4 to 5 cm in length, and 2 to

3 cm in width, and has about 250
compartments called testicular lobules .
THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
• Testicular lobules have seminiferous tubules
which are the sites of sperm formation.

• Seminiferous tubules are lined by two types

of cells:
Male germ cells − They undergo meiosis
to form sperms.
Sertoli cells − They provide nourishment
to the germ cells.

Region outside the seminiferous tubules is

called the interstitial space, which contains • It includes:
Leydig cells (interstitial cells). The Leydig cells
produce androgens. o A pair of ovaries
o A pair of oviducts
o Uterus
ACCESSORY DUCTS AND GLANDS o Cervix
o Vagina
• Accessory ducts include:
o Rete testis o External genitalia
o Vasa efferentia o Mammary glands (not part of the
o Epididymis reproductive system, but aids in child care)
o Vas deferens

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OVARIES CERVIX AND VAGINA
• They are the primary female sex organs. • The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina.
They produce the ovum and other ovarian • The cervix and the vagina constitute the birth
hormones. canal.

• They are located in the lower abdomen, and

are 2 to 4 cm in length EXTERNAL GENITALIA
• They are connected by ligaments to the
pelvic walls and to the uterus. • Consists of:

• Each ovary is covered by epithelium, and o Mons pubis − Fatty tissue covered by skin
contains the ovarian stroma. and pubic hair

• The ovarian stroma is made up of: o Labia majora − Extends from mons pubis
and surrounds the vaginal opening
o Peripheral cortex
o Inner medulla o Labia minora − Fold of skin beneath the
labia majora

o Hymen − Partially covers the vaginal

OVIDUCTS opening

o Clitoris − Lies at the junction of labia minora

• They are also called fallopian tubes .

• They are 10 to 12 cm long, and extend from

the ovary to the uterus. MAMMARY GLANDS
• The part of each oviduct lying towards the
ovary is funnel shaped, and is called • Present in all female mammals
infundibulum. It has fingerlike projections
• It is paired and is glandular
called fimbriae.
• Each breast contains 15 to 20 mammary
• The infundibulum leads to the ampulla, and lobes with alveoli which secrete milk.
then to the isthmus, which has a narrow
lumen opening into the uterus. • The alveoli open into the mammary tubules,
which unite to form a mammary duct.

• Many mammary ducts constitute the

UTERUS mammary ampulla, which is connected to
the lactiferous duct.
• It is also called womb , and is pear shaped .

• It is connected to the pelvic walls by GAMETOGENESIS

ligaments

• The uterine wall consists of: The testis and ovary produce the male and
female gametes respectively by
o External perimetrium
gametogenesis (spermatogenesis in males
o Middle myometrium and oogenesis in females).
o Internal endometrium, which lines the
uterine cavity

• The endometrium undergoes changes

during the menstrual cycle.

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SPERMATOGENESIS STRUCTURE OF A SPERM

• A mature sperm consists of:

o Head
• In males, sperms are produced by the o Neck
spermatogonia (immature germ cells), o Middle piece
which are present in the inner walls of the o Tail
seminiferous tubules. • The whole sperm is enclosed in a plasma
• Spermatogonia increase in number by membrane.
mitosis. These are diploid.
• The head consists of a haploid nucleus and a
• Some of the spermatogonia called primary caplike acrosome , which contains enzymes
spermatocytes periodically undergo meiosis. that aid in fertilisation.

• The middle piece contains several

• Some of the spermatogonia called primary
mitochondria, which produce energy for the
spermatocytes periodically undergo meiosis.
motility of the sperm
• After the first meiotic division, two haploid • Sperms released by the seminiferous tubules
and equal secondary spermatocytes are are transported by the accessory ducts.
formed.
• Secretions of epididymis, vas deferens,
• These further undergo meiosis to give rise to seminal vesicles, and prostate are essential
four haploid spermatids. for maturation and motility of sperms.
• These spermatids are converted into sperms
by spermiogenesis.

• The sperm head gets embedded in the

OOGENESIS
Sertoli cells after spermiogenesis and is
released from the seminiferous tubules by
spermiation

• Spermatogenesis starts at puberty by the

action of the gonadotropin releasing
hormone (GnRH), which in turn causes the
release of two gonadotropins called
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle
Stimulating Hormone (FSH).

• LH acts on Leydig cells and causes them to

• The ovum is formed by the process of
release androgens, which stimulate the
oogenesis.
process of spermatogenesis while the FSH
acts on the Sertoli cells, which help in • These cells undergo meiosis, but get
spermiogenesis. temporarily arrested at the prophase and are
called primary oocytes.

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 • Before reaching puberty, a large number of
• It is followed by the follicular phase .In this
primary oocytes degenerate and the
remaining ones get surrounded by layers of phase, the primary follicles mature into the
granulosa cells and new theca and are called Graffian follicles. This causes the regeneration
secondary follicles. of the endometrium. These changes are
brought about by ovarian and pituitary
• The secondary follicles are then converted hormones. In this phase, the release of
into tertiary follicles that have characteristic
gonadotropins (LH and FSH) increases. This
fluidfilled cavity called antrum. At this stage,
the primary oocyte present within the tertiary causes follicular growth and the growing
follicle completes meiosis, which results in the follicles produce oestrogen.
formation of haploid secondary oocyte and a
tiny polar body. • The LH and FSH are at their peak in the middle
of the cycle (14 th day), and cause the
• This tertiary follicle further changes into the
Graafian follicle . The secondary oocyte is rupture of the Graffian follicles to release
surrounded by the zone pellucida. ovum. This phase is called the ovulatory
phase.
• Then the Graafian follicle ruptures to release
the ovum by ovulation
• The remains of the Graffian follicles get
converted into the corpus luteum, which
MENSTRUAL CYCLE & FERTILISATION secretes progesterone for the maintenance
of the endometrium

• In the absence of fertilisation, the corpus

luteum degenerates, thereby causing the
disintegration of the endometrium and the
start of a new cycle.

• In humans, the menstrual cycle ceases to

operate at the age of 50 years. This phase is
known as the menopause .

FERTILISATION AND IMPLANTATION

• Menstrual cycle is the reproductive cycle in
• During coitus, the semen is released into the
all primates and begins at puberty
vagina, passes through the cervix of the
(menarche).
uterus and reaches the ampullaryisthmic
• In human females, menstruation occurs junction of the fallopian tube.
once in 28 to 29 days. The cycle of events
starting from one menstruation till the next • The ovum is also released into the junction
one is called the menstrual cycle . for fertilisation to occur.

• During the middle of the menstrual cycle, • The process of fusion of the sperm and the
one ovum is released (ovulation). ovum is known as fertilisation.

• The cycle starts with the menstrual flow • During fertilisation, the sperm induces
(3 to 5 days), caused due to the breakdown changes in the zona pellucida and blocks the
of the endometrium of the uterus. Blood entry of other sperms. This ensures that only
vessels in liquid state are discharged, but this one sperm fertilises an ovum.
occurs only when the ovum is not fertilised.

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 • The enzymatic secretions of the acrosomes
• These hormones support foetal growth and
help the sperm enter the cytoplasm of the
ovum. help in the maintenance of pregnancy.
Hormones like oestrogen, progestogen,
• This causes the completion of meiotic cortisol, prolactin, etc., are increased several
division of the secondary oocyte, resulting in folds in the maternal blood.
the formation of a haploid ovum (ootid) and
a secondary polar body.
• Immediately after implantation, the inner cell
• Then, the haploid sperm nucleus fuses with mass (embryo) gets differentiated into the
the haploid nucleus of the ovum to form a ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, which
diploid zygote . give rise to the different tissues. This ability of
the inner cell mass is due to the presence of
• Mitosis starts as the zygote moves through
multipotent cells called stem cells .
the isthmus of the oviduct (cleavage) and
forms 2, 4, 8, 16 daughter cells called
blastomeres . • Most of the major organs are formed at the
end of 12 weeks of pregnancy; during the 5 th
• The 8−16 cell embryo is called a morula , month, the limbs and body hair are formed;
which continues to divide to form the by the 24 th week, the eyelids separate and
blastocyst . The morula moves further into the
eyelashes are formed. At the end of nine
uterus.
months, the foetus is fully formed.
• The cells in the blastocyst are arranged into
an outer trophoblast and an inner cell mass .
PARTURITION AND LACTATION
• The trophoblast gets attached to the uterine
endometrium, and the process is called
implantation. This leads to pregnancy. • Human pregnancy has the duration of 9
months. This duration is called the gestation
• The inner cell mass gets differentiated to period
form the embryo.
• At the end of this period, vigorous uterine
contractions lead to the delivery of the foetus.
PREGNANCY, PARTURITION AND This process is called parturition

LACTATION PREGNANCY • Parturition is a neuroendocrine mechanism,

and is started by the signals from the
developed foetus and the placenta, which
• After implantation, the trophoblast forms produce the foetal ejection reflex.
fingerlike projections called chorionic villi,
• This causes the release of oxytocin from the
surrounded by the uterine tissue and materna
pituitary, which causes stronger uterine
blood.
contractions.
• The chorionic villi and the uterine tissue get
• This leads to the expulsion of the baby along
integrated to form the placenta , which helps
with the placenta.
in supplying the developing embryo with
oxygen and nutrients, and is also involved in • During pregnancy, the mammary glands
the removal of wastes. undergo differentiation, and milk is produced
during the end of pregnancy
• The placenta is connected to the embryo by
the umbilical cord . The placenta acts as an
endocrine gland, and produces the human • The milk produced during the first few days
chorionic gonadotropins, human placental of lactation is known as colostrums. It
lactogen, oestrogen, progesterone and contains several antibodies that aid the
relaxin (later stages of pregnancy). newborn to develop resistance.