Compendium Notes Major Topic 1 Unit 4

Compendium Notes Chapter 16 – Reproductive System

Index:
Human Life Cycle
Male Repro. System
Female Repro. System
Female Hormone Levels

16.1 Human Life Cycle (Mader p. 320)

-Puberty is when a child becomes sexually competent adult.

Reproductive Organs have the following functions:

1. Males produce sperm within testes, and females produce eggs within ovaries.
2. Males nurture and transport the sperm in ducts until they exit the penis, and
females transport the eggs in uterine tubes to the uterus.
3. The male penis functions to deliver sperm to the female vagina, which functions
to receive the sperm. The vagina also transports menstrual fluid to the exterior and
is the birth canal.
4. The uterus of the female allows the fertilized egg to develop within her body.
After birth, the female breast provides nourishment in the form of milk.
5. The testes and ovaries produce the sex hormones that maintain the testes and
ovaries and have a profound effect on the body because they bring about
masculinization and feminization of various features. In females, the sex
hormones also allow a pregnancy to continue.

16.2 Male Repro. System (Mader p. 321 – 324)

-The male gonads, or primary sex organs, are paired testes which are suspended within
the sacs of the scrotum.
-Sperm produced by the testes mature within the epididymis, which is a tightly coiled
duct lying just outside each testis.
-When sperm leave an epididymis, they enter a vas deferens also called the ductus
deferns, where they may also be stored for a time.
-Each vas deferns passes into the abdominal cavity, where it curves around the bladder
and empties into an ejaculatory duct. The ejaculatory ducts enter the urethra.
-At the time of ejaculation, sperm leave the penis in a fluid called semen.

Semen:
-the seminal vesicles, the protate gland, and the bulbourethral glands (Cowper glands)
add secretions to the seminal fluid.
1. Seminal Vesicles lie at the base of the bladder, and each has a duct that joins
with a vas deferens.
2. The Protate Gland is a single, donut-shaped gland that surrounds the upper
portion of the urethra just below the bladder.
 3. The Bulbourethral Glands are pea-sized organs that lie posterior to the prostate
on either side of the urethra. Their secretion makes the seminal fluid gelatinous.

Orgasm in Males
-The penis is the male organ of sexual intercourse.
-Glans Penis is normally covered by a layer of skin called foreskin.
-Spongy, erectile tissue containing distrensible blood spaces extends through the shaft of
the penis. During sexual arousal, autonomic nerves release nitric ocid, NO. This leads to
the production of CGMP (cyclic guanosine monophosphate), which causes the smooth
muscle of incoming arterial walls to relax and the erectile tissue to fill with blood.
-As sexual arousal intensifies, sperm enter the urethra from each vas deferens, and the
glands contribute secretions to the seminal fluid.Once sminal fluid is in the urethra,
rhythmic muscle contraction cause it to be expelled from the penis in spurts.
-Refractory Period: Follows during which stimulation does not bring about an erection.

Male Gonads, the Testes

-Testes begin their development inside the abdominal cavity but descend into the scrotal
sacs during the last two months of fetal development.
-If doesn’t happen, become infertile because it’s too warm inside body for sperm.
-Testis is composed of compartments called lobules each of which contains one to three
tightly coiled seminiferous tubules.
-A microscopic cross section of a seminiferous tubule reveals that it is packed with cells
undergoing spermatogenesis (the production of sperm).
-Spermatognia (young sperm) divide to produce primary spermatocytes (2n).
-These move away from the outer wall, increase in size , and undergo meiosis I to
produce secondary spermatocytes, each with only 23 chromos (n).
-Secondary spermatocytes undergo meiosis II to produce four spermatids, each of
which also has n (haploid). Spermatids then differentiate into sperm.
-Sertoli Cells: Support, nourish, and regulate the process of spermatogenesis.
-Takes approximately 74 days for sperm to undergo development from spermatogina to
sperm.
-Mature sperm, called spermatozoa, have three distinct parts: a head, a middle piece, and
a tail.
-Mitochondria in the middle piece provide energy for the movement of the tail
(flagellum). The head contains a nucleus covered by a cap called the acrosome,
which stores enzymes needed to pentrate the egg.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicle)

Hormonal Regulation in Males

-Interstitial Cells: Androgens are secreted by cells that lie between the seminiferous
tubules.
-Hypothalamus has ultimate control of the testes’ sexual function because it secretes a
hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) that stimulates the anterior
pituitary to secrete the gonadotropic hormones.
-*Two gonadotropic hormones are: Follicle-stimulating hrmone (FSH) and
Liteinizing hormone (LH).
-All these hormones are involved in a negative feedback relationship that maintains the
fairly constant production of sperm and testosterone.
-When amount of testosterone rises to a certain level in the blood, it causes the
hypothalamus and anterior pituitary to decrease their respective secretion of
GnRH and LH.
-As the level of testosterone begins to fall, the hypo increases its secretion of
GnRH and the anterior pituitary increases its secretion of LH, which stimulates
the interstitial cells to produce testosterone.
-Testosterone: Is the main sex hormone in males, is essential for the normal development
and functioning of the organs.
16.3 Female Repro. System (Mader p. 324 – 326)
-The female gonads are paired ovaries that lie in shallow depressions, one on each side of
the upper pelvic cavity.

The Genital Tract

-Oviducts: also called the uterine or fallopian tubes, extend from the uterus to the ovaries.
-Not attached to ovaries – instead finger-like projections called fimbriae.
-Once the egg is in the oviduct it is propelled slowly by ciliary movement and tubular
muscle contraction toward the uterus.
-Fertilization creates the zygote.
-A developing embryo usually arrives at the uterus after several days, and then
implantation occurs.
-Uterus is thick-walled muscular organ about the size and shape of an inverted
pear.
-The oviducts join the uterus at its upper end and at the lower end is the cervix.
-Lining of the uterus is called the endometrium and participates in the creation of the
placenta.

External Genitals
-The external genital organs of the female are known collectively as the vulva.
*See page 326 for picture and different parts.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulva)

16.4 Female Hormone Levels (Mader p. 326 – 330)

Ovarian Cycle: Nonpregnant

-An ovary contains many follicles, and each one contains an immature egg, called an
oocyte. A female is born with as many as two million follicles, but the number is reduced
to 300,000-400,000 by the time of puberty.
-Only about 400 follicles mature (one egg per month during repro. years).
(http://www.tarleton.edu/~anatomy/oogenesis.html)

*See pages 327-328 for more information on hormonal control of ovaries.

Uterine Cycle: Nonpregnant

-Female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone have numerous functions.
-One function affects the endometrium, causing the uterus to undergo a cyclical
series of event known as the uterine cycle.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle)
 Compendium Notes Chapter 17 – Development and Aging

Index:
Fertilization
Pre-Embryonic and Embryonic Development
Fetal Development
Pregnancy and Birth

17.1 Fertilization (Mader p. 354)

-Fertilization is the union of a sperm and egg to form a zygote, the first cell of the new
individual.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilization)

17.2 Pre-Embryonic and Embryonic Development (Mader p. 355 – 359)

-Cleavage: Immediately after fertilization, the zygote begins to divide so that there are
first 2, then 4, 8, 16, and 32 cells, etc.
-Growth: During embryo development, cell division is accompanied by an increase in
size of the daughter cells.
-Morphogenesis: Refers to the shaping of the embryo and is first evident when certain
cells are seen to move, or migrate, in relation to other cells.
-Differentiation: When cells take on a specific structure and function, differentiation
occurs. The first system visibly differentiated is the nervous system.
Extra Embryonic Membranes
-Not part of the embryo and fetus; instead, as implied by their name, they are outside the
embryo.

1. Chorion: Develops into the fetal half of the placenta, the organ that privdes the
embryo fetus with nourishment and O2 and takes away its waste. Blood vessels
within the chorionic villi are continuous with the umbilical blood vessels.
2. Allantois: The allantois, like the yolk sac, extends away from the embryo. It
accumulates the small amount of urine produced by the fetal kidneys and later
gives rise to the urinary bladder.
3. Yolk Sac: The first embryonic membrane to appear. In shelled animals such as
birds, the yolk sac contains yolk, which is food for the developing embryo. In
mammals, this function is taken over by the placenta, and the yolk sac contains
little yolk. But the yolk sac contains plentiful blood vessels – it is the first site of
blood cell formation.
4. Amnion: The amnion enlarges as the embryo and then the fetus enlarges. It
contains fluid to cushion and protect the embryo.

Pre-Embryonic Development
-The events of the first week.
-Zygote divides after fertilization as it passes down the oviduct to the uterus.
-Morula: A compact ball of embryonic cells that becomes a blastocyst.
-The many cells of the blastocyst arrange themselves that there is an inner cell
mass surrounded by an outer layer of cells.
-The inner cell mass becomes the embryo and the layer of cells will become the
chorion.

(Mader p. 356)
Embryonic Development
-Begins with the second week and lasts until the end of the second month of
development.
-At the end of the first week, the embryo usually begins the process of implanting itself in
the wall of the uterus.
-During implantation, the chorion secretes enzymes to digest away some of the tissue and
blood vessels of the endometrium of the uterus. The chorion also begins to secrete human
chrionic gonadotropin (HCG).
-*This hormone is the basis for a pregnancy test.
-HCG acts like luteinizing hormone in that it serves to maintain the corpus luteum
past the time it normally disintegrates.
-Because it is stimulated, the corpus luteum secretes progesterone, the endometrium is
maintained, and the expected menstruation does not occur.
-As the week progresses, the inner cell mass become the embryonic disk.
-The start of the major event called gastrulation, turns the inner cell mass into the
embryonic disk.
-Gastrulation is an example of morphogenesis during which cells move or migrate
in this case to become tissue layers called the primary germ layers.
(Mader p. 357)

(Mader p. 358)

Third Week
-The nervous system is the first organ system to be visually evident and the development
of the heart begins in the third week.

Fourth and Fifth Weeks

-The embryo is barely larger than the height of this print.
-The body stalk (future umbilical cord) connects the embryo to the chroion which has
treelike projections called chorionic villi.

Sixth Through Eighth Weeks

-The embryo changes to a form that is easily recognized as a human being.
17.3 Fetal Development (Mader p. 360 – 367)
-The placenta is the source of progesterone and estrogen during pregnancy. These
hormones have two functions:

1. Because of negative feedback on the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary, they

prevent any new follicles from maturing, and…
2. They maintain the endometrium – menstruation does not usually occur during
pregnancy.

-The placenta has a fetal side contributed by the chorion and a maternal side consisting of
uterine tissues.
-The blood of the mother and the fetus never mix since exchange always takes
place across the villi.
-Carbon diocide and other wastes move from the fetal side to the maternal side,
and nutrients and oxygen move from the maternal side to the fetal side of the
placenta by diffusion.

Path of Fetal Blood

-Blood within the fetal aorta travels to its various branches, including the iliac arteries,
which connect the umbilical arteries carrying 02-poor blood to the placenta. The
umbilical vein carries blood rich in nutrients and O2 away from the placenta to the fetus.

See page 361 for more information on fetal blood path.

Events of Fetal Development

-Includes the third through the ninth months of development.

Third and Fourth Months

-The fetal head is still very large relative to the rest of the body, the nose is flat, the eyes
are far apart, and the ears are well formed.
-Cartilage gets replaced by bone.
-Cartilage remains at the ends of the long bones, and ossification is not complete
until age 18 or 20.
-Sometimes during the third month, it is possible to distringuish males from females.
-During fourth month, the fetal heartbeat is loud enough to be heard when a physician
applies a stethoscope to the mother’s abdomen.

Fifth through Seventh Months

-The mother begins to feel movement.
-The wrinkled, translucent skin is covered by a fine down called lanugo. This is coated
with a white, greasy, cheeselike substance called vernix caseosa, which probably protects
the delicate skin from the amniotic fluid. The eyelids are now fully open.

Eighth through Ninth Months

-The fetus usually rotates so that the head is pointed toward the cervix. However, if the
fetus does not turn, a breech birth is likely.
*See page 364 – 365 for development of genitals.

17.4 Pregnancy and Birth (Mader p. 368 – 369)

-The energy level fluctuates
-The uterus relaxes
-The pulmonary values increase

Birth
-The onset of true labor is marked by uterine contractions that occur regularly every 15-
20 minutes and last for 40 seconds or longer.
-Prior to or at the first stage of parturition (the process of giving birth to an offspring)
there is a “bloody show” caused by expulsion of a mucous plug from the cervical canal.

Stage 1
-Uterine contractions of labor occur in such a way that the cervical canal slowly
disappears as the lower poart of the uterus is pulled upward toward the bab’ys head.
-If amniotic membrane has not already ruptured, it is apt to do so during this stage.
-This stage ends once the cervix is dilated completely.

Stage 2
During the second stage of parturition, the uterine contractions occur every 1-2 minutes
and last about 1 minute each (they are accompanied by a desire to push or bear down).
-As the baby’s head gradually descends into the vagina, the desire to push becomes
greater. When the baby’s head reaches the exterior, it turns to that the back of the head is
uppermost.
-An episiotomy is when the doctor makes an incision to open the vagina.
-Once the head emerges, the physician may hold the head and guide it downward, while
one shoulder and then the other merges. The rest of the baby follows easily.
-Once the baby is breathing normally, the imbilical cord is cut and tied, severing the child
from the placenta.

Stage 3
-The placenta or afterbirth is delivered during the third stage or parturition. About 15
minutes after delivery of the baby, uterine muscular contractions shrink the uterus and
dislodge the placenta.
(Mader p. 369).