BIO 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 32: Male Accessory Gland, Pseudostratified Columnar Epithelium, Vas Deferens
Document Summary
The accessory sex glands - exocrine glands. They produce most of the liquid portion of semen, the mixture of secretions and sperm expelled during ejaculation, and help lubricate the outside of the penis during intercourse. The accessory glands include the seminal vesicles, prostate, and bulbourethral glands. The paired seminal vesicles are found on the posterior surface of the urinary bladder near the ampullae of the ductus deferens. Each seminal vesicle is about 15 cm long. The duct of each seminal vesicle converges with the ductus deferens to form the ejaculatory ducts. The exterior of each gland has a fibrous capsule that covers a thick layer of smooth muscle. Deep to this is the mucosa layer, which is made of a pseudostratified columnar epithelium that secretes seminal fluid. Seminal fluid, a yellowish secretion that makes up approximately 60 70% of total semen volume, contains: Fructose, a sugar that sperm use as a nutrient to make atp.
