ANHB1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Sexual Arousal, Bulbourethral Gland, Erectile Dysfunction
3 Jun 2018
School
Course
Professor
Lecture 27
Thursday, 12 May 2016
3:30 pm
The Male Reproductive Tract
Testes:
• Located in the scrotum in adult
• During embryonic development - formed near kidney
• Descend to scrotum ~ 28 weeks of fetal life
• Guided by gubernaculum
• Undescended testes - cryptorchidism - leads to infertility
• Temperature of testes needs to be regulated
Temperature Regulation of the Testes:
• Scrotum
o Sweat glands
o Evaporative cooling
• Cremaster muscle
o Covering testes
o If temperature is too warm, muscle will relax and testes will move away
from the body wall
o If temperature is too cold, muscle will contract and testes will move
towards the body
• Pampiniform plexus
o Anatomical feature of blood supply
o Meshwork of blood vessels
o Counter current principle - heat transfer between testicular artery and
pampiniform plexus of veins
Testes and Ducts:
• Outer layer surrounded by thick, fibrous capsule
• Divides testes into 200-300 lobules
• Each lobule contains 1-2 tube structures - seminiferous tubules
• Seminiferous Tubule
o Sperm production occurs here
o Germ cells - form sperm (spermatogonia)
o Sertoli cels - support, protection, always in contact with spermatogonia
• Interstitial tissue - lies outside seminiferous tubules
o Leydig cells - secrete testosterone (androgen)
• Epididymis - produced sperm mature here
o Single, highly-coiled tube
o 2-6 day passage
o Sperm maturation (gain motility, metabolic changes, cell membrane
changes), storage and transport
o Androgen dependent
• Vas deferens
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