REPRODUCTION IN

HUMANS
IGC
SE
061
0
 15.1 THE HUMAN
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

 The female reproductive

organs
 The male reproductive
organs
Topics to study under this main



Human gametes
Fertilization
Implantation
heading 

the placenta
The amniotic sac
 15.1 THE HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS
THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS
• The female gametes called eggs or egg cells are made in two ovaries
• Leading away from the ovaries are the oviducts sometimes called the Fallopian
Tubes which lead to the womb or the uterus.
• The tube connects directly to the ovaries but have a funnel shaped opening just a
short distance away.
• The uterus has very thick walls, made of muscle which is quite small only about a size
of a clenched fist- but it can stretch to a great deal when a woman is pregnant.
• At the uterus base is a narrow opening guarded by muscles which is its neck or the
cervix which connects to the vagina which then leads to the outside of body.
• The opening from the bladder called the urethra is a tube that is in front of the vagina
while the rectum is just behind it.
• These 3 tubes open quite separately outside.
THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE
SYSTEM
 THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE
ORGANS
• The male gametes called spermatozoa or sperm, are made in two testes
which are outside to keep them away from high temperatures in two sacs
of skin called scrotum. (More information on slide8)
• The sperm are carried away from each testis in a tube called the sperm
duct which join up with the urethra just below the bladder.
• The urethra continues downwards & opens at the tip of the penis.
• The urethra can carry both urine & sperm at different times
• When the sperm ducts join the urethra there is a gland called the
prostrate gland which makes a fluid called semen, which the sperm swim
in.
MALE REPRODUCTIVE
SYSTEM
 HUMAN GAMETES
• Eggs begin to be formed inside the girl’s ovaries before she is born and
will already have thousands of partly developed eggs inside her ovaries at
birth which will mature when they reach puberty & one develops at one
time in one month throughout a woman’s life.
• An egg cell is a single cell which burst out when it is fully developed out of
ovary & into the funnel of the oviduct and is called ovulation.
 HUMAN GAMETES
• Testis contains thousands of very narrow, coiled tubes or tubules where
sperms are made and then stored at epididymis.
• Sperm develop from cells in the walls of the tubules continually from
puberty onwards.
• Sperm production are very sensitive to heat because if they get too hot
the cells in the tubules will not develop into sperm. That’s why the testes
are positioned outside the body. (open slide5)
 FERTILIZATION
• After ovulation the egg is caught in the funnel of the oviduct very slowly the egg
travels towards the uterus.
• The cilia lining in the oviduct help to move it, by producing gentle rippling movements.
• Life Span of Egg Cell: 8-24 hours
• Life Span of Sperm Cell: 3-4 days
• If the egg is not fertilized during its life span after ovulation it dies as by this time it has
only travelled a short way along the oviduct, which means that a sperm must reach the
egg while it is quite near the top oviduct of the oviduct if fertilization is to be successful.
 FERTILIZATION
• To be able to bring the sperm near to the egg as soon as possible the
man’s penis is placed inside the woman’s vagina and the penis releases
the sperm into the vagina.
• It is released when the muscles in the walls of the tubes containing the
sperm contract rhythmically.
• The wave of contraction begins in the testes, begins in the testes & travels
along the sperm ducts into the penis where the sperm is squeezed along
the tubes out of the man’s urethra into the vagina of the woman.
• The fluid containing the sperm is called the semen which is produced by
the prostate gland containing the sugars & other nutrients to provide the
sperm with energy.
•
 FERTILIZATION
• The sperm are still quite a long way from the egg.
•They use their flagella & energy released in the mitochondria to swim.
•This way they are able to travel through the cervix & uterus & into the oviduct.
FERTILIZATION
• Sperm can only swim for about 4mm per minute.
• So it will take a lot time to reach but since many released some of them
will reach probably the egg.
• When a sperm cell contacts the jelly coat surrounding an egg cell the
acrosome is activated so it releases its digestive enzymes to digest the
jelly coat.
• The jelly coat becomes impenetrable so that no other sperm can enter
and those left outside all die.
• This way it allows the head of the sperm to push through and get into the
cytoplasm of the egg leaving the flagellum outside.
• To cause the fertilization the sperm fuses with the nucleus of the egg
which is called fertilization.
 IMPLANTATION
• When the zygote is finally formed it
slowly moves into the oviduct & divides
repeatedly.
• After several years it forms a ball of
cells called the embryo which contains
the nutrients from the yolk of the egg.
• It takes several hours for the embryo
to reach the uterus and by this time it
is a ball of 16 & 32 cells.
• The uterus has a thick, spongy lining &
the embryo sinks into it causing
implantation.
 THE PLACENTA
• As the embryo now is buried in the walls of
the uterus continue to divide.
• As the embryo grows the placenta also grows
which connects to the wall of the uterus.
• The placenta is a soft, dark, red & has villi
(finger like projections) which fit closely to the
uterus’ wall & is where the substances are
exchanged with the mother’s blood & the
embryo’s blood, it is like a support system of
the embryo.
• After 11 weeks the embryo has developed
most of its organs and is now called the fetus
and now is joined in the placenta by the
umbilical cord.
• The cord contains the 2 arteries which take
blood from the placenta & veins which returns
the blood to the fetus.
 THE PLACENTA
• The capillaries in the placenta are filled with the fetus’s blood.
• The lining of the uterus contains large spaces filled with mother’s blood also the
mother’s blood and fetus’s blood doesn’t mix together because they are separated by
the wall of placenta but are brought about very close because the placenta is very
thin.
• Oxygen & dissolved nutrients in the mother’s blood diffuse across the placenta into
the fetus’s blood & carried along the umbilical cord to the fetus, where CO2 & other
excretory products diffuse in the other direction & are carried away in the mother’s
blood.
• Unwanted toxins such as alcohol, and CO can also cross the placenta.
•As the fetus grows the placenta grows too & by the time the baby is born the placenta
is a flat disk about 12cm in diameter & 3cm thick.
 THE AMNIOTIC SAC
• The fetus is surrounded by a strong membrane called the amniotic sac
which makes a liquid called the amniotic fluid which helps to support the
embryo & protects it from mechanical injury.
• The embryo is able to float in the fluid & is able to freely move its arms &
legs which helps the muscles & skeletons to develop correctly.
• After 9 months when the fetus is ready to be born, contractions of the
muscles in the uterus wall often cause the amniotic sac to be born, releasing
the amniotic fluid so that it travels into the vagina, which is often a sign a
woman is about to give birth.
 TESTOSTERONE
• The main reproductive hormone produced in men is testosterone.
• The time when a person approaches sexual maturity is called adolescence. (point
included in estrogen too)
• Sperm Production begins in a boy.
• In boys , testosterone is secreted by the testes which during adolescence is secreted
greatly & this causes the secondary sexual characteristics to develop.
• They include growth of:
1. Facial hair
2. Pubic hair
3. Broadening shoulders
4. General muscular development
5. Deepening voice
 ESTROGEN
• In woman, estrogen & progesterone are secreted.
• The point at which sexual maturity is reached is called puberty. (point
included in testosterone too)
• Girls have this a few years later than boys.
• Estrogen is secreted by the ovaries.
• It causes the:
1. Breasts to grow larger.
2. Pubic hair to grow.
3. Hips to become wider.
 THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• Eggs develop in small structures called the follicles, in the ovaries.
• After a girl reaches puberty, an egg is usually released once a month & before it is
released the uterus forms a thick spongy lining so it is ready to receive a zygote.
• The uterus has tiny blood vessels, which will supply the embryo with nutrients &
oxygen if it should arrive.
• But when it isn’t fertilized the lining slowly breaks down because it is not needed out of
the vagina slowly which is called menstruation, or a period.
• It usually lasts for 5 days.
• After menstruation the lining of the uterus builds up again that it will be ready to
receive the next egg if it is fertilized.
 THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• The events of the menstrual cycle are controlled by 4 hormones estrogen,
progesterone, FSH & LH.
• Ovaries secrete the estrogen & progesterone.
• FSH & LH are secreted by a small gland attached to the base of the brain called
the pituitary gland.
• FSH causes the follicle to develop in the ovary, with a developing female gamete
inside which secretes estrogen in increasing amounts (the follicle).
• Estrogen causes the lining of the uterus to become thicker & better supplied with
blood.
• There is a surge in the production of LH when the follicle is fully developed which
causes ovulation.
• Estrogen levels start to fall when ovulation has taken place.
 THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• The follicle from which the egg was released develops into a structure called corpus luteum, which
secretes progesterone so the concentration of progesterone increases.
• Progesterone keeps the lining of the uterus thick & spongy, ready to receive a fertilized egg.
• The FSH & LH production decrease because the increase in progesterone inhibits the pituitary gland.
• The corpus luteum breaks down if the egg isn’t fertilized & the progesterone drops making
menstruation occur.
• The FSH & LH start to increase & the whole cycle repeat the reason is the progesterone is now not
inhibiting their secretion.
• However, the progesterone levels remain high if the egg is fertilized.
• This happens because the corpus luteum remains in the ovary & continues to secrete progesterone.
• The thick uterus lining is maintained by the help of progesterone so the embryo can implant into it.
• Once the placenta has completely developed it takes over the role of secreting progesterone which
it does throughout the pregnancy until the baby is born.
THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE
• The high levels of progesterone during pregnancy inhibit thee
secretion of FSH by the pituitary gland, so no more follicles
develop in the ovary.
15.2 SEXUALLY  Preventing HIV

TRANSMITTED
transmissions
 Through sexual contact
 Through blood contact

INFECTIONS  Through breast feeding

 15.2 SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
• Sexually transmitted infections, or STIs for short, are infections caused by bacteria
or viruses that can be passed from one person to another person during sexual contact.
• By far the most important of these infections is HIV/AIDS.
• AIDs stands for (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by HIVs (human
immunodeficiency virus).
• HIVs infects particularly a type of a white blood cell called T cells which are normally our
strongest defense against viruses, which is slowly destroyed.
• Several years after the infections the T cells numbers are so low that they aren’t able to
fight again any other pathogens effectively.
• It is hard for anyone to protect themselves from HIV.
• People become very vulnerable to other infections such as pneumonia & may develop
cancer because the immune system would be destroyed & they would produce more
cancer cells.
 15.2 SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS
• However today there are excellent drugs to control HIV called antiretrovirals.
• They stop the virus from multiplying inside the person’s cells & a person who
regularly uses it is likely to live a healthy & normal life & would be able o survive
death which usually occurs because of HIV as many people cant survive the
many number of diseases happened to them.
• Researchers are working on the production of a vaccine against HIV.
PREVENTING HIV
TRANSMISSION
• In general, there is no danger of anyone becoming infected with
HIV from normal contact with someone with AIDs.
• A person can only become infected with HIV through direct contact
of their body fluids with those of someone with virus.
• A person with HIV is said to be HIV positive.
• A person become HIV positive in one of the following ways:
1. Through Sexual Contact
2. Through Blood Contact
3. Through Breast Feeding
SEXUAL CONTACT
• During sexual intercourse fluids are exchanged within the partners
& the one with HIV can pass it to other easily because the more
sexual partners it has the more people get infected.
• Ways of preventing this are:
1. Having less sexual partners
2. Using Condoms
3. Avoiding the intercourse if they know they are infected
 BLOOD CONTACT
• In the early times like 1970s & 1980s everyone transferred their blood to
another person without anyone knowing it then later the ones given the blood
infected with HIV later developed AIDs
• Now usually all blood used in transfusions in most countries is screened for HIV
before it was used.
• It can also be passed from mother to the child during childbirth when the
mother’s blood comes in contact with the baby & it can be greatly reduced if the
mother took antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy.
• It can also be caused if they share the same hypodermic needles & usually
happens in people who inject drugs & have died from AIDs.
• In situations like any accidents or murders the professions coming to inspect
wear protected gears/clothing just in case the victim is infected with HIV
BREAST FEEDING
• If a woman is infected with HIV the virus can get into her breast
milk & can pass into her baby & could greatly be reduced if she
took antiretrovial drugs during her pregnancy & breastfeeding.
SUMMARY
THE END