BIO 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Seminiferous Tubule, Male Reproductive System, Prostate
Document Summary
The male and female reproductive tissues develop similarly in utero until testosterone is released from the male gonads. Testosterone causes the development of male sex organs. An absence of testosterone causes these tissues to develop into female sex tissues. The scrotum and penis are external to the body and are several degrees cooler than body temperature, allowing viable sperm to be produced: sperm mature in seminiferous tubules within the testes. The walls of the seminiferous tubules are composed of developing sperm cells: semen: a mixture of sperm, spermatic duct secretions, and fluids from accessory glands, sperm cells are haploid and have a flagellum as a tail. At ovulation, this secondary oocyte will be released: if the secondary oocyte is fertilized, the cell continues through meiosis ii, producing a fertilized egg and a second polar body. The hypothalamus causes the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
