THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF MAN
Unlike other systems of the body, the reproductive system is quite different in males and
females. Although structurally and functionally very different, the male reproductive system
and the female reproductive system have some features in common. Both sexes have:
i. A pair of gamete- producing organs, the gonads (ovaries or testes).
ii. A system of ducts which connects the gonads to other parts of the body and the
outside world
iii. Structures of copulation (the act of mating, when the sperm from the male are
transferred to the female).
MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The male reproductive organs are depicted in the diagram below.
- The male gonad or the primary sex organs are paired testes (sing., testis), which are
suspended within the sacs of the scrotum. The testes produce sperm and sex hormones.
The testes produce sperms by spermatogenesis.
- The function of the testes is to produce sperms. The sperms produced by the testes
mature within the epididymis, which is a tightly coiled duct laying just outside each
testes. Maturation of the sperm is required in order for it to swim to the egg.
- When the sperm leave the epididymis, they enter the vas deferens where they are stored
for short time. Each vas deferens passes into the abdominal cavity, where it curves around
Unlike other systems of the body, the reproductive system is quite different in males and
females. Although structurally and functionally very different, the male reproductive system
and the female reproductive system have some features in common. Both sexes have:
i. A pair of gamete- producing organs, the gonads (ovaries or testes).
ii. A system of ducts which connects the gonads to other parts of the body and the
outside world
iii. Structures of copulation (the act of mating, when the sperm from the male are
transferred to the female).
MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The male reproductive organs are depicted in the diagram below.
- The male gonad or the primary sex organs are paired testes (sing., testis), which are
suspended within the sacs of the scrotum. The testes produce sperm and sex hormones.
The testes produce sperms by spermatogenesis.
- The function of the testes is to produce sperms. The sperms produced by the testes
mature within the epididymis, which is a tightly coiled duct laying just outside each
testes. Maturation of the sperm is required in order for it to swim to the egg.
- When the sperm leave the epididymis, they enter the vas deferens where they are stored
for short time. Each vas deferens passes into the abdominal cavity, where it curves around
