HUMAN REPRODUCTION - Examples: sea star and flatworms

REPRODUCTION IN ANIMALS
A. Asexual Reproduction in Animals
- Type of reproduction in animals whereby one parent produces
offspring by cell division or without the fusion of two gametes.
- Common among lower forms of organisms.
- Advantage: an organism can produce many offsprings in a short
period of time without exerting much energy to either produce
the gamete or to find a mate.
- Disadvantages:
a. Lack of variation among individuals
b. Changing environment may wipe out a group of these
organisms that cannot adapt to sudden changes in their
environment.
Methods of Asexual Reproduction
1. Fission
- An individual divides into two halves, after which each grows to
the original form.
- Example: paramecium
B. Sexual Reproduction in Animals
- A process in which new individuals form from sex cells or
gametes produced by the parents in their sexual organs
- Primary Goals: is to merge the sperm and egg (fertilization) of
an animal to make a baby.
Types of Sexual Reproduction:
1. External Reproduction – fertilization occurs outside of the
body.
Example: aquatic animals
2. Internal Reproduction – fertilization takes place inside the
body of the female.
Note:
The purpose of sex is to merge two sets of genetic information one
from the father (sperm) and one from the mother (egg) to make a baby that
is genetically different from either parent.

2. Budding
- A parent organism produces offspring by growing a tiny replica
of itself in a form of an outgrowth, called bud on some parts of
its body. After the bud has grown enough it falls off and
becomes an independent and exact copy of the parent.
- Examples: hydra, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans

3. Fragmentation
- Separated pieces of the parent organism can develop into an
individual.
HUMAN SEXUAL REPRODUCTION: Biology of Sex
The Male Reproductive System
Role/s
The roles of the male reproductive system are to produce sperm
cells (male gamete) and to deliver the sperm cells to the female
reproductive system.
Primary
Organ/s TESTES
- Are oval-shaped organs found inside a productive sac
of skin called scrotum
- Begin to produce sperm only after the males reach the
adolescent stage known as puberty.
- Inside are clusters of hundreds of compartments with
many tiny coiled tubes called seminiferous tubules
where the sperms are produced in a cell division
process called meiosis
Hormones
To regulate the function of the testes, two hormones are secreted
by the anterior pituitary gland:
1. Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
- Stimulates the secretion of sex hormone
TESTOSTERONE
2. Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FHS)
- Stimulates sperm production in the seminiferous
tubules.
The Female Reproductive System
If fertilization occurred, the female reproductive system will continue its
role in nourishing and protecting the fertilized egg in the nine month of
development or pregnancy.
OVARIES
- Are egg-shaped organs located inside the abdominal cavity
and are responsible for the production and releasing of egg
cells produce though meiosis.
Note:
1. When a female reaches puberty – the increased production of
hormones enables one immature egg to complete its
development each month.
2. In the lifetime of a female – only 300 to 400 egg cells will mature.
3. When an egg cell matures it is called ovum
1. In female, the monthly series of events in the ovaries that
prepares the body for a possible pregnancy (Ovarian Cycle)
involves two stages the Follicular Phase and the Luteal Phase
which are regulated by the hormones follicle-stimulating
hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) which causes the
follicle to produce ESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE – sex
homones that aid for the growth of the follicle and signals the
body to prepare for fertilization.
2. Ovulation
- is the monthly release of an ovum from the ovary
3. Menstrual Cycle
- The series of changes that prepare the uterus for a possible
pregnancy each month (for about 28 days)
4. If pregnancy does not occur Menstruation process happens.
 Cell
Journey Sperm Cell Egg Cell
1. Sperm are produced in the testes and are stored in each 1. An ovary releases an ovum into a fallopian tube about once every
epididymis – long coiled tube the site where the most of month (about every 28 days)
the sperm are stored and will mature until they are 2. The ovum move through the fallopian tube toward the uterus.
capable of swimming and moving. 3. When fertilization occurs, the fertilized ovum develops in the
2. Matured sperm cells travel from epididymis to another uterus.
long tube called the vas deferens.
3. Sperm leave the body through the urethra a larger tube
that leads to the outside of the body, which is the same
duct through which urine passes and exits the body.
4. As the sperm cells move to the urethra, sperm mixes with
fluids produced by neighboring glands – prostate glands,
seminal vesicles, and bulbourethral glands. The combined
secretions of these glands which are collectively called as
SEMEN – nourish the sperm cells.
5. The urethra leads the sperm cell through the penis – the
male organ that deposits the sperm in the female
reproductive system during sexual intercourse or
copulation.

Cell Parts
1. Head with a very little cytoplasm 1. Cytoplasm
2. Midpiece – contains mitochondria that supply energy 2. Nucleus
needed to propel the sperm through the female 3. Plasma membrane
reproductive system 4. Outer membrane
3. Tail – is a powerful flagellum that whips back and forth,
enabling it to move.

Trivia
About 3.5 ml of semen is expelled during ejaculation which The egg cells are some of the biggest cells in a woman’s body. Even then,
normally contains 300 to 400 million sperm cells or about five ten egg cells are needed to cover a pinhead.
million in just one drop.

FERTILIZATION OF THE OVUM
1. During fertilization, a sperm cell penetrates an ovum and releases
the enzymes at the tip of its head that break down the jellylike
outer layers of the ovum,
2. The head of the sperm enters the ovum, and the nuclei of the ovum
and sperm fuse together to produce a diploid cell called ZYGOTE.
3. The nucleus of the sperm and of the egg each has 23 chromosomes,
united in fertilization a zygote if formed with 46 chromosomes (23
chromosome pairs).
 4. Cell division takes place as the zygote travels back down the oviduct
toward the uterus (6 to 7 days)
5. The zygote becomes a small ball of cells that attaches itself to the
uterine wall – IMPLANTATION and the zygote is now called
EMBRYO.

EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT
It takes about nine months from the time the embryo becomes
implanted in the walls of the uterus until a baby is born – PREGNANCY
First 2 Months:
- Developing child is called an embryo
- Placenta is formed
- Umbilical cord forms and connects the placenta to the embryo
- Amniotic sac and amniotic fluid begins to form around the
embryo to protect and hel cushion the embryo.
rd
3 Month of Pregnancy:
- The embryo begins to look more human, fingers, eyes, toes,
arms and legs have developed – embryo is now called FETUS
- All the major organs are present to some extent
- Fetal heart beat can be heard
- Fetus starts to move and begins to suck its thumb
4th Month of Pregnancy:
- Sex of the fetus can be determined by an ultrasound test
- Fetus becomes more active and moves around the uterus.
7th Month of Pregnancy:
- A layer of fat develops under the skin
- Fetal bonesbegin to harden
9th Month of Pregnancy:
- The fetus has usually rotated to a head-down position inside the
uterus.
THE BIRTH
1. It begins with the onset of labor – muscular contractions of the
uterus.
2. Amniotic sac usually breaks releasing its fluid.
3. Eventually the contractions cause the opening of the uterus.
4. The baby passes through the vagina and then out onto the world.