HUMAN REPRODUCTION

● Internal fertilization takes place in human beings by sexual methods.

● After fertilization, implantation takes place followed by gestation.
● During gestation foetus occurs within the female uterus for approximately
nine months.
● Gestation ends with the process of birth known as labor or parturition.
● Reproductive events start at the age of puberty.
● There are remarkable differences in the reproductive events in the male and
female reproductive systems.

The Male Reproductive System

The male reproductive organs are situated both inside and outside the pelvis. It
includes
(1) Testes or the testicles
(2) The accessory ducts - Epididymis
Vas deferens
(3) The accessory glands - Seminal vesicles
Prostate gland
Bulbo-urethral gland
(4) The external genitalia - Penis

TESTES
● They are two in number.
● Mature testes produce and store millions of tiny sperm cells.
● Testes are situated outside the abdominal cavity within a sac like structure
called scrotum.
● This helps to regulate the temperature of testes, which need to be kept at
2-3°C lower than the body temperature to produce sperms.
● Each testes is oval shaped, 4-5 cm in length and 2-3 cm in diameter.
● It is covered over by a dense connective tissue covering.
● Each testis has about 250 testicular lobules and each lobule contains one to
three highly coiled seminiferous tubules in which sperms are produced.
● The seminiferous tubules are lined by a single layer of germinal epithelium.
 ● The germinal epithelium consists of two types of cells namely
spermatogonial cells or germ cells and sertoli cells.
● The germ cells by meiotic divisions form pserms, while sertoli cells provide
nutrition to the developing germ cells.
● The region in between seminiferous tubules is called the interstitial spaces.
● They contain small blood vessels and interstitial cells or leydig cells
synthesize and secrete testicular hormones called androgens.
● The male accessory ducts include rete testis, Vasa efferentia, epididymis and
vas deferens.
● The seminiferous tubules of each testes open into the vasa efferentia through
rete testis.
● The vasa deferentia after leaving the testis open into the epididymis.
● The epididymis, a tightly coiled tube is connected to vas deferens.
● The vas deferens ascends to the abdomen and loops over the urinary bladder,
it receives a duct from seminal vesicle and opens into urethra as the
ejaculatory duct.
● These ducts store and transport the sperms from the testis to the outside
through urethra.
● The urethra originates from the urinary bladder and extends through the
penis to its external opening called urethral meatus.
● The penis is made up of two parts- the shaft and the glans. The shaft is the
main part of the penis and the glans is the tip.
● At the end of the glans is a small slit or opening called urethral meatus, from
where semen and urine exit the body through the urethra.
● The inside of the penis is made of a spongy tissue that can expand and
contract. This tissue facilitates insemination.
● The loose fold of skin which covers glans is called foreskin.
● The male accessory glands include paired seminal vesicles, a prostate gland
and a pair of bulbo urethral glands. Secretions of these glands constitute the
seminal plasma which is rich in fructose, calcium and certain enzymes.
● The secretions of bulbourethral glands also help in the lubrication of the
penis.

The Female Reproductive System

● The human female reproductive system is entirely located in the lower
abdominal cavity.
● It consists of a pair of ovaries, a pair of oviducts, uterus, cervix, vagina and
vulva.
● All these parts are together concerned with the process of ovulation,
fertilization, pregnancy, parturition and child care.
● The ovaries are two oval shaped primary sex organs.
● They lie on either side of the uterus and attached to it by the ligaments.
● These organs are responsible for the production of the ova and the secretion
of hormones.
● Each ovary measures about one and half to two inches in length. It is
covered over by a layer of germinal epithelium, enclosing the stroma. The
stroma is composed of fibrous connective tissue which is differentiated into
outer cortex and inner medulla. The cortex contains thousands of tiny
undeveloped ovarian follicles. Medulla contains only blood vessels and
nerve fibres.
● The female accessory ducts include oviduct or fallopian tube, uterus and
vagina.
● Oviduct or fallopian tube is about 10 cm long and extends from the ovary to
the uterus. It is divided into 3 parts - a funnel like opening infundibulum, a
middle dilated ampulla and the last part isthmus which opens into the uterus.
The larger end of the infundibulum has feathery finger-like projections
called fimbriae, which lie close to the ovary. Fimbriae helps in collection of
ovum after ovulation.
● The uterus or womb is a hollow, muscular pear shaped highly vascular
organ. It consists of an upper broad part called the body, a narrow uterine
cavity and a lower cylindrical part called the cervix. The cavity of the cervix
is called the cervical canal, along with vagina. It forms the birth canal. The
thick uterine wall has three layers of tissues - the outer thin membranous
perimetrium, middle thick layer of smooth muscles myometrium and inner
glandular layer endometrium. The endometrium undergoes cyclical changes
during menstrual cycle and myometrium exhibits strong contraction during
the parturition. The uterus opens into vagina through a narrow cervix.
● The vagina is a muscular, hollow tube which is about 8 to 12 cm long. A
thin sheet of tissue called hymen partially covers the opening of the vagina.
 The hyman is often torn during the first coitus (intercourse). However, it can
also be broken by a sudden jolt or fall, insertion of a vaginal tampon, active
participation in some sports like horseback riding., cycling etc. In some
women the hymen persists even after coitus. Hence, the presence or absence
of hyman is not a reliable indicator of virginity or sexual experience.
● The external part of the female genitalia is called the vulva, which includes
mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora and clitoris. Mons pubis is a cushion
of fatty tissue covered by skin and pubic hair. The labia majora are fleshy
folds of tissue, which surround the vaginal opening. The labia minora are
paired folds of tissue under the labia majora. The clotoris is a tiny finger like
structure which lies at the upper function of the two labia minora above the
urethral opening.

Mammary Glands
● A functional mammary gland is the characteristic feature of all female
mammals. They are modified sweat glands. Each mammary gland consists
of secretary mammal alveoli and the appropriate ducts. Each mammary
alveoli are divided into 15-20 mammary lobes. The cells of the alveoli
secrete milk. The alveoli open into the mammary tubule. The tubules of each
lobe join to form a wider mammary ampulla which is connected to
lactiferous ducts, through which milk is sucked out.

GAMETOGENESIS
The process of formation of haploid gametes from diploid germ cells by meiosis in
the gonads is called gametogenesis. It includes spermatogenesis and oogenesis.

Spermatogenesis
● The process of formation of haploid sperms from diploid spermatogonia by
meiosis in the testes is called spermatogenesis. It is initiated in the male
testis at the beginning of puberty.
● Each seminiferous tubule consists of sperm mother cells and sertoli cells.
● The sperm mother cells divide repeatedly by mitosis to produce more
numbers of spermatogonia.
 ● The spermatogonia is diploid with 46 chromosomes and these
spermatogonial cells which are ready to undergo meiosis are called primary
spermatocytes.
● The diploid primary spermatocytes undergo first meiotic division to produce
two haploid secondary spermatocytes with 23 chromosomes.
● The secondary spermatocytes undergo 2nd meiotic division to produce 4
haploid spermatids.
● The spermatids transform into spermatozoa or sperms by the process called
spermiogenesis.
● After spermiogenesis, sperm heads become embedded in the sertoli cells.
● They are released from the seminiferous tubules by the process called
spermiation.

Hormonal Regulation of Spermatogenesis

● Spermatogenesis starts at the age of puberty due to significant increase in the
secretion of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). It is a hypothalamic
hormone.
● The GnRH influences the anterior pituitary gland and stimulates secretion of
two gonadotropins.
● Luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).
● LH acts on leydig cells, which inturn stimulates synthesis and secretion of
androgens.
● Androgens in turn stimulate spermatogenesis.
● Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) acts on sertoli cells and stimulates the
secretion of some factors which help in the spermiogenesis.

Structure of Sperm
● The sperm consists of a head, neck, a middle piece and a tail.
● The plasma membrane envelopes the whole body of sperm.
● The sperm head contains an elongated haploid nucleus, the anterior part is
covered by a cap-like structure called acrosome.
● The acrosome contains enzymes that help in fertilization with the ovum.
● The middle piece contains numerous mitochondria which supply energy for
the motility of the sperms for fertilization.
 ● The human male ejaculates about 200 to 300 million sperms during coitus.
For normal fertility at least 60% sperms must have normal size and shape.
Atlease 40% of them must show vigorous motility.
● Sperm released from the seminiferous tubules are transported by the
accessory ducts.
● Secretions of epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle and prostate are
essential for maturation and motility of sperms.
● The seminal plasma along with the aperms constitutes the semen.

OOGENESIS
● The process of formation of female gamete-egg or ovum is called oogenesis.
This process takes place in the ovary.
● Oogenesis is initiated during the embryonic development stage. A couple of
million gamete mother cells or oogonia ia is formed within each foetal
ovary. Oogonia are not formed or added after birth.
● These oogonial cells start dividing and enter into prophase-I of meiosis and
get temporarily arrested at that stage. called primary oocytes.
● Each primary oocyte gets surrounded by a layer of granulosa cells and are
called primary follicles. At puberty only 60000-80000 primary follicles are
present in each ovary.
● The primary follicles get surrounded by more follicular or granulosa cells
and a new theca and becomes secondary follicles.
● The secondary follicles soon transforms into a tertiary follicle which consists
of a fluid filled cavity called antrum.
● The theca layers are organised into inner theca interna and theca externa.
● At this stage, the primary oocytes completes its meiotic division and
becomes a secondary oocyte and a polar body.
● It is an unequal division resulting in a large secondary oocyte with bulk of
the nutrient rich cytoplasm and small polar body.
● The tertiary follicle becomes a mature graafian follicle.
● The secondary oocyte forms a new membrane called zona pellucida around
it.
● During ovulation, the graafian follicle ruptures a released secondary oocyte
from the ovary.
Menstrual Cycle
● It is the reproductive cycle in the female primates.
● The first menstruation begins at puberty and is called menarche.
● The events from one menstruation to another are called menstrual cycles. It
occurs at an average interval of about 28-29 days.
● A single ovum is released in every menstrual cycle. The major events are as
follows.

(1) Menstrual Phase​ - The cycle starts with the menstrual phase and menstrual
flow occurs and lasts for 3-5 dyas.
The menstrual flow occurs because of breaking down of the endometrial wall of
the uterus and its blood vessels. This forms liquid which comes out of the vagina.
Menstruation occurs only if the released ovum is not fertilized. Hence, lack of
menstruation is the indicative of pregnancy.

(2) Follicular Phase

Menstrual phase is followed by follicular phase. This is the stage when primary
follicle becomes mature graafian follicle.
Simultaneously the endometrium of the uterus regenerates through proliferation.
These changes are induced by changes in the pituitary and ovarian hormones.
The secretion of gonadotropins - LH and FSH increases during the follicular phase.
This stimulates follicular development and secretion of estrogens by the growing
follicles.

(3) Ovulatory Phase

LH and FSH attain a peak level in the middle of he cycle on about 14th day
Maximum secretion of LH takes place at this time. This is called as LH surge
which induces rupturing of graafian follicle to release ovum. This process is called
ovulation.

(4) Luteal Phase

The remains of the graafian follicle transform into corpus luteum, which secretes a
large amount of progesterone.
Progesterone helps in maintenance of endometrium, which provides a suitable
place for fertilized ovum to implant and also for other events of pregnancy.
During pregnancy menstruation does not take place, other events of menstrual
cycle also do not occur.
In the absence of fertilization, the corpus luteum degenerates and causes the
endometrial wall to disintegrate. This causes menstruation leading to the beginning
of a new cycle.
Menstrual cycle ceases around 50 years of age. This is called menopause.
Cyclic menstruation is the normal reproductive phase and extends from menarche
to menopause.

FERTILIZATION
● The process of release of semen by penis into the vagina is called
insemination.
● From the vagina, the motile sperm passes through the cervix, enters the
uterus and finally reaches the junction of the isthmus and ampulla of the
fallopian tube.
● The ovum released by the ovary is also transported to the ampullary -
isthmus junction.
● Fertilization occurs only if the ovum and sperms are transported
simultaneously to the ampullary - isthmus junction. Hence, all copulation
does not lead to fertilization and pregnancy.
● The process of fusion of sperm and ovum is called fertilization.
● When sperm comes in contact with the zona pellucida region, it induces
changes in the membrane which blocks the entry of other sperms. This
process avoids polyspermy.
● The secretions of acrosome, helps the sperm to enter the ovum through the
zona pellucida and the plasma membrane.
● This initiates 2nd meiotic division in the secondary oocyte, which unequally
divides to form haploid ovum (ootid) and the 2nd polar body.
● The haploid sperm nucleus and the haploid ovum nucleus fuse together to
form a zygote.

Sex Detrmination of the Child

● The sex of the child is determined at the time of fertilization.
 ● The male parent has two sex chromosomes- x & y. Hence, 50% of sperms
carry ‘x’ chromosome and 50% of sperms carry ‘y’ chromosome. Male
gametes are heterogametic.
● The female parent has only x-chromosomes. Hence all the ovums carry only
x chromosomes. The female gametes are homogametic.
● After the fusion of sperm and ovum the zygote would carry either xx or yy
chromosomes. The zygote carrying xx-chromosomes will become a female
child and zygote carrying xy-chromosomes develop into male child.

IMPLANTATION
● The zygote starts the process of mitotic division. It also starts to move
through the isthmus towards the uterus.
● The mitotic division of the zygote is called cleavage.
● The resulting cells after cleavage are called blastomeres. The will be the
formation of 2, 4, 8, 16 daughter cells or the blastomeres.
● The embryo with 8 to 16 blastomeres is called a morula.
● The morula continues to divide and transform into blastocyst as it moves
further into the uterus.
● The blastomeres in the blastocyst are arranged into an outer layer called
trophoblast and the inner group of cells attached to the trophoblast is called
inner cell mass.
● The trophoblasts get attached to the endometrium of the uterus.
● The inner cell mass divides rapidly and gets embedded into the wall of the
endometrium.
● This process is called implantation. This leads to pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Embryonic Development

● After the process of implantation, finger-like projections appear on the
trophoblast and chorionic villi which are surrounded by uterine tissue and
the maternal blood.
● The chorionic villi and uterine tissue become interdigitated with each other.
● It forms the structural and functional unit between developing embryos and
the maternal body called placenta.
● Placenta helps in the supply of O₂ and nutrients to the embryo and removes
CO₂ and excretory materials produced by the embryo.
 ● The placenta is connected to the embryo through the umbilical cord. It helps
in the transport of substances to and from the embryo.
● Placenta helps in secretion of hormones like human chorionic gonadotropin
(hCG), human placental lactogen (hPL), estrogen and progestogens.
● In later stages of pregnancy, a hormone called relaxation is secreted by the
ovary.
● Increased production of all these hormones supports foetal growth,
metabolic changes in mother and maintenance of pregnancy.

Embryonic Development
● After implantation, the inner cell mass differentiates into outer ectoderm and
inner endoderm with middle mesoderm.
● These three germ layers give rise to all tissues and organs in adults.
● The inner cell mass contains certain cells which have the potency to give rise
to all types of tissues and organs. They are called stem cells.
● The human pregnancy or gestation period lasts for 9 months.
● After one month of pregnancy, the embryo’s heart is formed. The first sign
of a growing foetus may be noticed by listening to the heart sound through a
stethoscope.
● By the end of the second month, foetus develops limbs and digits.
● By the end of three months, most of the major organs are formed.
● The first movement of the foetus and appearance of hair on the head are
observed during the 5th month.
● By the end of 24 weeks or 2nd trimester, the body is covered with fine hair,
eye-lids separate and eyelashes are formed.
● By the end of nine months, the foetus is fully developed and is ready for
parturition.

Parturition and Lactation

● After the gestation period, vigorous contraction of the uterus causes
expulsion or delivery of the foetus. This process is called parturition.
● It is a complex neuroendocrine mechanism.
● The signal for parturition originates from the fully developed foetus and the
placenta which induces mild uterine contractions. This is called as foetal
ejection reflex.
 ● This triggers release of oxytocin from the maternal pituitary.
● Oxytocin reaches the uterine muscle and causes stronger uterine
contractions. This inturn stimulates further secretion of oxytocin.
● This reflex continues resulting in stronger contractions.
● This leads to expulsion of the baby out of the uterus through the birth canal
(vagina) resulting in parturition.
● After the delivery the placenta is also expelled out of the uterus.

Lactation
● The mammary glands undergo differentiation during pregnancy.
● It starts producing milk towards the end of the pregnancy by the process
called lactation.
● The new born baby is fed by mother’s milk.
● The milk produced during the initial few days of lactation is called
colostrum.
● Colostrum contains antibodies essential for the new born baby to develop
resistance against diseases.
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