MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

The male reproductive system is mostly located outside of the body. These
external organs include the penis, scrotum and testicles. Internal organs
include the vas deferens, prostate and urethra. The male reproductive system
is responsible for sexual function, as well as urination.

What’s the male reproductive system?

The male reproductive system includes a group of organs that make up a

man’s reproductive and urinary system. These organs do the following jobs
within your body:

 They produce, maintain and transport sperm (the male reproductive

cells) and semen (the protective fluid around sperm).
 They discharge sperm into the female reproductive tract.
 They produce and secrete male sex hormones.

The male reproductive system is made up of internal (inside your body) and
external (outside your body) parts. Together, these organs help you urinate
(rid your body of liquid waste materials), have sexual intercourse and make
children.

How does the male reproductive system function?

The entire male reproductive system is dependent on hormones. These are

chemicals that stimulate or regulate the activity of your cells or organs. The
primary hormones involved in the functioning of the male reproductive system
are follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and
testosterone.

FSH and LH are produced by the pituitary gland. It’s located at the base of
your brain and it’s responsible for many functions in your body. FSH is
necessary for sperm production (spermatogenesis). LH stimulates the
production of testosterone, which is necessary to continue the process of
spermatogenesis. Testosterone is also important in the development of male
characteristics, including muscle mass and strength, fat distribution, bone
mass and sex drive.

ANATOMY
What are the external male reproductive structures?
Most of the male reproductive system is located outside of your abdominal
cavity or pelvis. The external parts of the male reproductive system include
the penis, the scrotum and the testicles.

Penis

The penis is the male organ for sexual intercourse. It has three parts:

 The root: This is the part of the penis that attaches to the wall of your
abdomen.
 The body or shaft: Shaped like a tube or cylinder, the body of the
penis is made up of three internal chambers. Inside these chambers
there’s a special, sponge-like erectile tissue that contains thousands of
large spaces that fill with blood when you’re sexually aroused. As the
penis fills with blood, it becomes rigid and erect, which allows for
penetration during sex. The skin of the penis is loose and elastic,
allowing for changes in penis size during an erection.
 The glans: This is the cone-shaped end of the penis. The glans, which
is also called the head of the penis, is covered with a loose layer of
skin called foreskin. This skin is sometimes removed in a procedure
called circumcision.

The opening of the urethra — the tube that transports both semen and urine
out of the body — is located at the tip of the glans penis. The penis also
contains many sensitive nerve endings.

Semen, which contains sperm, is expelled (ejaculated) through the end of the
penis when a man reaches sexual climax (orgasm). When the penis is erect,
the flow of urine is blocked from the urethra, allowing only semen to be
ejaculated at orgasm.

Scrotum

The scrotum is the loose pouch-like sac of skin that hangs behind the penis. It
holds the testicles (also called testes), as well as many nerves and blood
vessels. The scrotum protects your testes, as well as providing a sort of
climate control system. For normal sperm development, the testes must be at
a temperature slightly cooler than the body temperature. Special muscles in
the wall of the scrotum allow it to contract (tighten) and relax, moving the
testicles closer to the body for warmth and protection or farther away from the
body to cool the temperature.

Testicles (testes)

The testes are oval organs about the size of very large olives that lie in the
scrotum, secured at either end by a structure called the spermatic cord. Most
men have two testes. The testes are responsible for making testosterone, the
primary male sex hormone, and for producing sperm. Within the testes are
coiled masses of tubes called seminiferous tubules. These tubules are
responsible for producing the sperm cells through a process called
spermatogenesis.

Epididymis

The epididymis is a long, coiled tube that rests on the backside of each
testicle. It carries and stores sperm cells that are created in the testes. It’s
also the job of the epididymis to bring the sperm to maturity — the sperm that
emerge from the testes are immature and incapable of fertilization. During
sexual arousal, contractions force the sperm into the vas deferens.

CONDITIONS AND DISORDERS

Can a man go through menopause?

Menopause is a term used to describe the end of a woman's normal

menstrual function. In women, this is marked by changes in hormone
production. One of the biggest changes for a woman after menopause is that
she can no longer have children. The testes, unlike the ovaries, don't lose the
ability to make hormones. If a man is healthy, he may be able to make sperm
well into his 80s or longer.

On the other hand, subtle changes in the function of the testes can happen as
early as 45 to 50 years of age, and more dramatically after the age of 70. For
many men, hormone production may remain normal into old age, while others
may have declining hormone production earlier on. This can sometimes be a
result of an illness, such as diabetes.

It’s unclear whether decreasing testicular function contributes to symptoms

like fatigue, weakness, depression or impotence.

Can "male menopause" be treated?

If your testosterone levels are low, hormone replacement therapy may help
relieve symptoms, such as the loss of interest in sex, depression and fatigue.
However, replacing male hormones can make prostate cancer worse, and
may make atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) worse, also.

You should receive a complete physical examination and laboratory tests

should be performed before starting hormone replacement therapy. There are
still many unanswered questions about how many middle-aged men could
benefit from hormone replacement therapy. Talk to your healthcare provider
about all the pros and cons of this treatment and what the best option is for
you.
FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The external and internal anatomy of the female reproductive system

How does the female reproductive system work?

The female reproductive system provides several functions. The ovaries

produce the egg cells, called the ova or oocytes. The oocytes are then
transported to the fallopian tube where fertilization by a sperm may occur. The
fertilized egg then moves to the uterus, where the uterine lining has thickened
in response to the normal hormones of the reproductive cycle. Once in the
uterus, the fertilized egg can implant into thickened uterine lining and continue
to develop. If implantation does not take place, the uterine lining is shed as
menstrual flow. In addition, the female reproductive system produces female
sex hormones that maintain the reproductive cycle.

During menopause, the female reproductive system gradually stops making

the female hormones necessary for the reproductive cycle to work. At this
point, menstrual cycles can become irregular and eventually stop. One year
after menstrual cycles stop, the woman is considered to be menopausal.

What parts make-up the female anatomy?

The female reproductive anatomy includes both external and internal

structures.

The function of the external female reproductive structures (the genital) is

twofold: To enable sperm to enter the body and to protect the internal genital
organs from infectious organisms.

The main external structures of the female reproductive system include:

 Labia majora: The labia majora (“large lips”) enclose and protect the
other external reproductive organs. During puberty, hair growth occurs
on the skin of the labia majora, which also contain sweat and oil-
secreting glands.
 Labia minora: The labia minora (“small lips”) can have a variety of
sizes and shapes. They lie just inside the labia majora, and surround
the openings to the vagina (the canal that joins the lower part of the
uterus to the outside of the body) and urethra (the tube that carries
urine from the bladder to the outside of the body). This skin is very
delicate and can become easily irritated and swollen.
 Bartholin’s glands: These glands are located next to the vaginal
opening on each side and produce a fluid (mucus) secretion.
 Clitoris: The two labia minora meet at the clitoris, a small, sensitive
protrusion that is comparable to the penis in males. The clitoris is
covered by a fold of skin, called the prepuce, which is similar to the
foreskin at the end of the penis. Like the penis, the clitoris is very
sensitive to stimulation and can become erect.
The internal reproductive organs include:

 Vagina: The vagina is a canal that joins the cervix (the lower part of
uterus) to the outside of the body. It also is known as the birth canal.
 Uterus (womb): The uterus is a hollow, pear-shaped organ that is the
home to a developing fetus. The uterus is divided into two parts: the
cervix, which is the lower part that opens into the vagina, and the main
body of the uterus, called the corpus. The corpus can easily expand to
hold a developing baby. A canal through the cervix allows sperm to
enter and menstrual blood to exit.
 Ovaries: The ovaries are small, oval-shaped glands that are located on
either side of the uterus. The ovaries produce eggs and hormones.
 Fallopian tubes: These are narrow tubes that are attached to the
upper part of the uterus and serve as pathways for the ova (egg cells)
to travel from the ovaries to the uterus. Fertilization of an egg by a
sperm normally occurs in the fallopian tubes. The fertilized egg then
moves to the uterus, where it implants to the uterine lining.
What happens during the menstrual cycle?

Females of reproductive age (beginning anywhere from 11 to 16 years of age)

experience cycles of hormonal activity that repeat at about one-month
intervals. Menstru means "monthly” – leading to the term menstrual cycle.
With every cycle, a woman’s body prepares for a potential pregnancy,
whether or not that is the woman’s intention. The term menstruation refers to
the periodic shedding of the uterine lining. Many women call the days that
they notice vaginal bleeding their “period,” “menstrual” or cycle.

The average menstrual cycle takes about 28 days and occurs in phases.
These phases include:

 The follicular phase (development of the egg)

 The ovulatory phase (release of the egg)
 The luteal phase (hormone levels decrease if the egg does not implant)

There are four major hormones (chemicals that stimulate or regulate the
activity of cells or organs) involved in the menstrual cycle. These hormones
include:

 Follicle-stimulating hormone
 Luteinizing hormone
 Estrogen
 Progesterone

Follicular phase

This phase starts on the first day of your period. During the follicular phase of
the menstrual cycle, the following events occur:

 Two hormones, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing

hormone (LH) are released from the brain and travel in the blood to the
ovaries.
 The hormones stimulate the growth of about 15 to 20 eggs in the
ovaries, each in its own "shell," called a follicle.
 These hormones (FSH and LH) also trigger an increase in the
production of the female hormone estrogen.
 As estrogen levels rise, like a switch, it turns off the production of
follicle-stimulating hormone. This careful balance of hormones allows
the body to limit the number of follicles that will prepare eggs to be
released.
 As the follicular phase progresses, one follicle in one ovary becomes
dominant and continues to mature. This dominant follicle suppresses
all of the other follicles in the group. As a result, they stop growing and
die. The dominant follicle continues to produce estrogen.
Ovulatory phase

The ovulatory phase (ovulation) usually starts about 14 days after the follicular
phase started, but this can vary. The ovulatory phase falls between the
follicular phase and luteal phase. Most women will have a menstrual period 10
to 16 days after ovulation. During this phase, the following events occur:

 The rise in estrogen from the dominant follicle triggers a surge in the
amount of luteinizing hormone that is produced by the brain.
 This causes the dominant follicle to release its egg from the ovary.
 As the egg is released (a process called ovulation) it is captured by
finger-like projections on the end of the fallopian tubes (fimbriae). The
fimbriae sweep the egg into the tube.
 For one to five days prior to ovulation, many women will notice an
increase in egg white cervical mucus. This mucus is the vaginal
discharge that helps to capture and nourish sperm on its way to meet
the egg for fertilization.

Luteal phase

The luteal phase begins right after ovulation and involves the following
processes:

 Once it releases its egg, the empty ovarian follicle develops into a new
structure called the corpus luteum.
 The corpus luteum secretes the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Progesterone prepares the uterus for a fertilized egg to implant.
 If intercourse has taken place and a man's sperm has fertilized the egg
(a process called conception), the fertilized egg (embryo) will travel
through the fallopian tube to implant in the uterus. The woman is now
considered pregnant.
 If the egg is not fertilized, it passes through the uterus. Not needed to
support a pregnancy, the lining of the uterus breaks down and sheds,
and the next menstrual period begins.

How many eggs does a woman have?

During fetal life, there are about 6 million to 7 million eggs. From this time, no
new eggs are produced. At birth, there are approximately 1 million eggs; and
by the time of puberty, only about 300,000 remain. Of these, only 300 to 400
will be ovulated during a woman's reproductive lifetime. Fertility can drop as a
woman ages due to decreasing number and quality of the remaining eggs.
ACTIVITY 1
THE MALE AND FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS

DIRECTION: Next to each word listed below, place an “F” if it is found in the
female body, and “M” if it is found in the male body.

1. Epididymis
2. Vagina
3. Testicles/Testes
4. Urethra
5. Cervix
6. Prostate Gland
7. Fallopian Tube
8. Uterus
9. Scrotum
10. Seminal Vesicles
11. Ovaries
12. Vas Deferens
13. Penis
14. Cowper’s Glands

ACTIVITY 2
ACTIVITY 3 Draw and Label the pictures in a short bond
paper.