Anatomy and physiology

The human male reproductive system (or male genital system) consists of a number of sex
organs that are a part of the human reproductive process. In the case of men, these sex organs are
located outside a man's body, around the pelvic region.

The main male sex organs are the penis and the testes which produce semen and sperm, which as
part of sexual intercourse fertilize an ovum in a woman's body and the fertilized ovum (zygote)
gradually develops into a fetus, which is later born as a child

Function of testes

Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive
system (being gonads) and the endocrine system (being endocrine glands). The respective
functions of the testes are:

 producing sperm (spermatozoa)

 producing male sex hormones of which testosterone is the best-known

Both functions of the testicle, sperm-forming and endocrine, are under control of gonadotropic
hormones produced by the anterior pituitary:

 luteinizing hormone (LH)

 follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)

External appearance

Almost all healthy male vertebrates have two testes. They are typically of similar size, although
in sharks, that on the right side is usually larger, and in many bird and mammal species, the left
may be the larger. The primitive jawless fish have only a single testis, located in the midline of
the body, although even this forms from the fusion of paired structures in the embryo.

In mammals, the testes are often contained within an extension of the abdomen called the
scrotum. In mammals with external testes it is most common for one testicle to hang lower than
the other. While the size of the testicle varies, it is estimated that 21.9% of men have their higher
testicle being their left, while 27.3% of men have reported to have equally positioned testicles.[4]
This is due to differences in the vascular anatomical structure on the right and left sides.

. The average testicle size after puberty measures up to around 2 inches long, 0.8 inches in
breadth, and 1.2 inches in height (5 x 2 x 3 cm). Measurement in the living adult is done in two
basic ways:
  comparing the testicle with ellipsoids of known sizes (orchidometer).
 measuring the length, depth and width with a ruler, a pair of calipers or ultrasound
imaging.

The volume is then calculated using the formula for the volume of an ellipsoid: 4/3 π × (length/2)
× (width/2) × (depth/2).

Internal structure

Duct system

Under a tough membraneous shell, the tunica albuginea, the testis of amniotes, and some teleost
fish, contains very fine coiled tubes called seminiferous tubules. The tubules are lined with a
layer of cells (germ cells) that from puberty into old age, develop into sperm cells (also known as
spermatozoa or male gametes). The developing sperm travel through the seminiferous tubules to
the rete testis located in the mediastinum testis, to the efferent ducts, and then to the epididymis
where newly-created sperm cells mature (see spermatogenesis). The sperm move into the vas
deferens, and are eventually expelled through the urethra and out of the urethral orifice through
muscular contractions.

Amphibians and most fish do not possess seminiferous tubules. Instead, the sperm are produced
in spherical structures called sperm ampullae. These are seasonal structures, releasing their
contents during the breeding season, and then being resorbed by the body. Before the next
breeding season, new sperm ampullae begin to form and ripen. The ampullae are otherwise
essentially identical to the seminiferous tubules in higher vertebrates, including the same range
of cell types.