This document summarizes the key components and functions of the male and female reproductive systems. It describes the testes, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate and penis in males, which work together to produce and ejaculate semen. It also outlines the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina and vulva in females, and explains how a follicle in the ovaries produces and releases an egg cell each month through ovulation, ready for potential fertilization.

1. MALE AND FEMALE
REPRODUCTIVE
SYSTEMS
Teacher Francesca De
Marzi

2. MALE
REPRODUCTIV
E SYSTEM
From the side
Epididymi
s

3. MALE
REPRODUCTIV
E SYSTEM
from the front

4. TESTICLES
• Are endocrine glands
• Produce spermatozoa (sperm
cells) and hormons
(testosterone)
• Are contained in a sack of skin
called SCROTUM
• Are formed by SEMINIFEROUS
TUBULES that produce sperm
cells, starting from the puberty
• The sperm cells then flow into
the EPIDIDYMIS

5. VAS DEFERENS;
SEMINAL VESICLE;
PROSTATE
• From the epididymis, sperm goes in a
canal called VAS DEFERENS
• The vas deferens ends in a SEMINAL
VESICLE, which produces seminal liquid.
•Seminal liquid nourishes and protects the
sperm cells
•The canal then enters in the PROSTATE,
a gland that increases sperm motility
Epididymi
s

7. THE SEMEN
Sperm cells (also called spermatozoa) +
Seminal liquid (from seminal vesicles) +
Prostatic secretion (from prostate) =
SEMEN (in italian «sperma»)

8. THE PENIS
• The URETHRA is a canal that starts from
the prostate. The urethra is also the
innermost canal of the penis.
• The sides of the penis are made of
spongy tissue (tessuto spugnoso, in the
picture is called corpora cavernosa) rich in
blood vessels
•The erection of the penis happens
because of an increase in blood flow.
Blood is blocked in the spongy tissue for
a certain period of time (erection) making
the organ firmer
•The erection is indispensable for the
ejaculation of the semen. Therefore, is
indispensable for the fertilisation.
• The top of the penis is called glans and is
rich in sensory neurons. It’s covered by a
layer of skin called foreskin. Circumcision

9. FEMALE
REPRODUCTIV
E SYSTEM
•It is located entirely in the
body
•Both fertilization, and
development of the baby,
happen here

10. THE OVARIES
• Are endocrine glands
• Produce oocytes (egg cells) and hormones (oestrogens)
• The oocytes in the ovary are protected by a group of cells called
FOLLICLE
• The production of egg cells is not infinite: starts at puberty with the
first menstruation (MENARCHE) and ends at around 50 years old with
the MENOPAUSE
•During he fertile time of a woman (circa 12 years old  circa 50 years
old) only ONE EGG CELL is produced PER MONTH

11. THE FALLOPIAN TUBES
• connect ovaries to the uterus
• if there was a sexual intercourse,
fertilisation happens here
• Sperm cells can survive 72 hours in the
female reproductive system
• The walls of the tubes are covered with
ciliated cells: these cells have some sort of
hairs (cilia) which push the egg from the
ovary to the uterus

12. THE UTERUS
• synonim: womb
• is hollow inside
• has a VERY THICK MUSCULAR
WALL (myometrium in the picture,
you don’t need to remember it)
• the muscular wall is covered by a
mucosa rich in blood vessels
(endometrium in the picture but
you don’t need to remember it)
• The embryo and then the baby
developes here
• has a fundus (ending part) and a
neck, also called cervix (initial
part, in italian «collo dell’utero»)

13. VAGINA AND VULVA• is a muscular canal
• is circa 7 cm long
• really really elastic (for the penis during the
intercourse and FOR THE BABY TO PASS!!)
• The entrance to the vagina is partially closed
by a thin membrane called HYMEN
• Normally, the hymen breaks during the first
sexual intercourse, sometimes there’s
bleeding. Sometimes not.
• Externally, there’s the vulva: the outer part
of the reproductive system
• Labia minora and labia majora are two fold
of skin that protects the entrance of the vulva
• The clitoris is a small organ rich in nerve
endings. It has sensory function, like the

14. THE FOLLICLE • Once a month, a follicle in one
of the two ovaries starts growing
•During the growth of a follicle,
the oocyte developes inside
•Then (always once a month) the
follicle opens: this is the
OVULATION
• During the ovulation, the oocyte
is expelled from the follicle and
goes in the fallopian tubes,
ready to be fertilised
• The empty follicle transforms
into corpus luteum

15. THE FOLLICLE • The ovulation happens once a
month
•To be more precise, every 28
days
• Therefore, it exist a « OVARIAN
CYCLE», which is the cycle of
growth of the egg cell in the
follicle and its release in the
tube