ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
OF REPRODUCTION
BIOMEDICALPERSPECTIVE IN
GENDER AND SEXUALITY
INTRODUCTION
Humans experience various physical and
emotional changes from childhood to adulthood.
These changes are gradual and progress at
diff erent ages and speed in different people.
The external genital organs include the mons pubis,
labia majora, labia minora, Bartholin glands, and
clitoris. The area containing these organs is called the
vulva.
•Enabling sperm to enter
the body
The external •Protecting the
genital internal genital organs
organs have from infectious
three main organisms
functions: •Providing sexual
pleasure
The mons pubis is a rounded mound of
fatty tissue that covers the pubic bone.
During puberty, it becomes covered with
hair. The mons pubis contains oil-secreting
(sebaceous) glands that release substances
that are involved in sexual attraction
(pheromones).
The labia majora (literally, large lips) are
relatively large, fleshy folds of tissue that
enclose and protect the other external
genital organs. They are comparable to the
scrotum in males. The labia majora contain
sweat and sebaceous glands, which
produce lubricating secretions. During
puberty, hair appears on the labia majora.
The labia minora (literally, small lips) can be very
small or up to 2 inches wide. The labia minora lie
just inside the labia majora and surround the
openings to the vagina and urethra. A rich supply
of blood vessels gives the labia minora a pink
color. During sexual stimulation, these blood
vessels become engorged with blood, causing
the labia minora to swell and become more
sensitive to stimulation.
The area between the opening of
the vagina and the anus, below
the labia majora, is called the
perineum. It varies in length
from almost 1 to more than 2
inches (2 to 5 centimeters).
The opening to the vagina is called
the introitus. The vaginal opening
is the entryway for the penis
during sexual intercourse and the
exit for blood during
menstruation and for the baby
during birth.
When stimulated, Bartholin
glands (located beside the
vaginal opening) secrete a
thick fluid that supplies
lubrication for intercourse.
The opening to the urethra,
which carries urine from the
bladder to the outside, is
located above and in front of
the vaginal opening.
The clitoris, located between the labia
minora at their upper end, is a small
protrusion that corresponds to the
penis in the male. The clitoris, like the
penis, is very sensitive to sexual
stimulation and can become erect.
Stimulating the clitoris can result in an
orgasm.
Female
internal
reproductive
structures.
•An female’s internal reproductive organs are the vagina, uterus,
fallopian tubes, cervix, and ovary.
•External structures include the mons pubis, pudendal cleft, labia
majora and minora, vulva, Bartholin’s gland, and the clitoris.
•The female reproductive system contains two main parts: the
uterus, which hosts the developing fetus, produces vaginal and
uterine secretions, and passes the anatomically male sperm through
to the fallopian tubes; and the ovaries, which produce the
anatomically female egg cells.
•vary: A female reproductive organ, often paired, that produces ova
and in mammals secretes the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
•oviduct: A duct through which an ovum passes from an ovary to
the uterus or to the exterior (called fallopian tubes in humans).
•vulva: The consists of the female external genital organs.
•oogenesis: The formation and development of an ovum.
The human female reproductive system (or female genital
system) contains two main parts:
1.Uterus
1.Hosts the developing fetus
2.Produces vaginal and uterine secretions
3.Passes the anatomically male sperm through to the
fallopian tubes
2.Ovaries
1.Produce the anatomically female egg cells.
2.Produce and secrete estrogen and progesterone
The organs of the male reproductive system are specialized for
the following functions:
•To produce, maintain and transport sperm (the male
reproductive cells) and protective fluid (semen)
•To discharge sperm within the female reproductive tract
•To produce and secrete male sex hormones
The male reproductive anatomy includes internal and external
structures.
Penis — The penis is the male organ for
sexual intercourse. It has three parts: the root,
which attaches to the wall of the abdomen;
What are the the body, or shaft; and the glans, which is the
cone-shaped end of the penis. The glans,
external male which also is called the head of the penis, is
covered with a loose layer of skin called
reproductive foreskin. (This skin is sometimes removed in
a procedure called circumcision.) The
structures? opening of the urethra, the tube that
transports semen and urine, is at the tip of the
glans penis. The penis also contains a number
of sensitive nerve endings.
Scrotum — The scrotum is the loose pouch-
like sac of skin that hangs behind the penis. It
contains the testicles (also called testes), as
well as many nerves and blood vessels. The
What are the
scrotum has a protective function and acts as a
external male climate control system for the testes. For
normal sperm development, the testes must be
reproductive at a temperature slightly cooler than the body
temperature. Special muscles in the wall of the
structures? 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
What are the end by a structure called the spermatic
cord. Most men have two testes. The
external male
testes are responsible for making
reproductive testosterone, the primary male sex
hormone, and for producing sperm.
structures? 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 functions in the carrying
What are the and storage of the sperm cells that are
produced in the testes. It also is the job of
external male the epididymis to bring the sperm to
reproductive maturity, since the sperm that emerge
from the testes are immature and
structures? incapable of fertilization. During sexual
arousal, contractions force the sperm into
the vas deferens.
•Vas deferens — The vas
deferens is a long, muscular tube
What are the that travels from the epididymis
into the pelvic cavity, to just
internal male
behind the bladder. The vas
reproductive deferens transports mature sperm
organs? to the urethra in preparation for
ejaculation.
•Ejaculatory ducts —
What are the These are formed by the
internal male fusion of the vas deferens
reproductive and the seminal vesicles.
The ejaculatory ducts
organs?
empty into the urethra.
•Urethra — The urethra is the tube
that carries urine from the bladder
What are the to outside of the body. In males, it
internal male has the additional function of
expelling (ejaculating) semen when
reproductive the man reaches orgasm. When the
organs? penis is erect during sex, the flow of
urine is blocked from the urethra,
allowing only semen to be
ejaculated at orgasm.
•Seminal vesicles — The seminal
What are the vesicles are sac-like pouches that attach
to the vas deferens near the base of the
internal male bladder. The seminal vesicles produce a
sugar-rich fluid (fructose) that provides
reproductive sperm with a source of energy and helps
organs? with the sperms’ motility (ability to
move). The fluid of the seminal vesicles
makes up most of the volume of a man’s
ejaculatory fluid, or ejaculate.
•Prostate gland — The prostate
gland is a walnut-sized structure that
What are the is located below the urinary bladder
in front of the rectum. The prostate
internal male gland contributes additional fluid to
reproductive the ejaculate. Prostate fluids also
help to nourish the sperm. The
organs? urethra, which carries the ejaculate
to be expelled during orgasm, runs
through the center of the prostate
gland.
•Bulbourethral glands — The
bulbourethral glands, or Cowper’s
What are the
glands, are pea-sized structures located
internal male on the sides of the urethra just below the
prostate gland. These glands produce a
reproductive clear, slippery fluid that empties directly
into the urethra. This fluid serves to
organs?
lubricate the urethra and to neutralize
any acidity that may be present due to
residual drops of urine in the urethra.
