3.45 Male Reproductive System

The male reproductive system is vital to the creation of life for many living organisms. Explore the male reproductive system and learn what part the testes play in sperm production and the journey of the sperm to the ovum.

Male Reproduction

All organisms on Earth reproduce. Plants and animals both make new plants and animals, but they do so very differently. Even within the animal kingdom, there are big differences. Birds, for example, lay eggs, while mammals like humans have live babies.

Today we’ll be going over one part of the reproductive process: the male reproductive system. In this lesson, you will learn all about the male reproductive system and understand how it helps animals reproduce.

Almost all animal species come in males and females, and humans are no different. Two different kinds of cells are needed to combine in order to reproduce. The male animals (the fathers) contribute sperm, a special kind of cell that contains DNA. DNA are the instructions for creating a baby. The females (mothers) will contribute an ovum, which also contains DNA.

When the sperm and the ovum meet, they combine and all those instructions get to work! The two cells join and then divide over and over again, making lots and lots of cells. These cells will become the new baby.

1. Main points:

In reproduction, male animals contribute sperm, which contains DNA, and female animals contribute an ovum, also containing DNA. When these two cells meet, they combine and divide repeatedly to form a new baby.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What is the role of sperm in the male reproductive system?
• Contextual Analysis: How does the combination of sperm and ovum lead to the creation of a new baby?
• Linguistic Analysis: What words in the text describe the process of fertilization and cell division?

3. Further Discussion:

Why is the diversity of reproductive strategies in different species important for their survival?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "The male animals (the fathers) contribute sperm, a special kind of cell that contains DNA."
• Contextual Analysis: "When the sperm and the ovum meet, they combine… The two cells join and then divide over and over again, making lots and lots of cells. These cells will become the new baby."
• Linguistic Analysis: Words like "combine," "divide," "instructions," and "creating a baby" describe the process of fertilization and cell division.

A Sperm’s Journey

Let’s follow some sperm on its reproductive journey. Before we get started, it’s important to know that the male reproductive system is a series of tubes and pouches that store and deliver the sperm out of the body and towards the ovum.

In humans, sperm is created in two glands called the testes (or the testicles). The testes are actually located outside of the body, just between the legs. This is because sperm needs to stay just slightly cooler than the inside of the human body. They are housed in a pouch of thick skin called the scrotum for protection.

Sperm travel in very large groups. In fact, on average, sperm travel in groups of more than 100 million at a time! They are super tiny and kind of look like tadpoles; the tail on the back of the sperm helps it to ‘swim.’

In order for them to swim, sperm need to have a fluid in which to travel. This fluid is made in little organs## Male Reproduction

All organisms on Earth reproduce. Plants and animals both make new plants and animals, but they do so very differently. Even within the animal kingdom, there are big differences. Birds, for example, lay eggs, while mammals like humans have live babies.

Today we’ll be going over one part of the reproductive process: the male reproductive system. In this lesson, you will learn all about the male reproductive system and understand how it helps animals reproduce.

Almost all animal species come in males and females, and humans are no different. Two different kinds of cells are needed to combine in order to reproduce. The male animals (the fathers) contribute sperm, a special kind of cell that contains DNA. DNA are the instructions for creating a baby. The females (mothers) will contribute an ovum, which also contains DNA.

When the sperm and the ovum meet, they combine and all those instructions get to work! The two cells join and then divide over and over again, making lots and lots of cells. These cells will become the new baby. called the seminal vesicles. The mixture of this fluid and sperm is called semen.

After the sperm is made in the testes, it begins its way through a series of tubes. The first tube it passes through is a tightly-coiled tube called the epididymis. Most of the epididymis is found in the scrotum, attached to the outside out the testes.

The sperm will continue its journey through the vas deferens. The vas deferens (sometimes called the ductus deferens) connects the epididymis to the final outgoing tube called the urethra.

In males, two kinds of fluids can leave the body through the urethra: urine (pee) and semen (which carries the sperm). These two jobs use the same tube, but they do not happen at the same time.

Finally, the sperm exits the body. The end of the urethra is found in an organ called the penis. The penis contains muscles and tissue that fills with blood during the reproductive process. It is through this organ that our sperm will leave the male’s body and try to find its way to the ovum.

1. Main points:

Sperm, produced in the testes, travel in large groups through a series of tubes, including the epididymis and vas deferens, and are mixed with fluid to form semen. The semen then exits the body through the urethra, located in the penis, during the reproductive process.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What is the journey of sperm from production to exit in the male reproductive system?
• Contextual Analysis: How do the different parts of the male reproductive system contribute to the journey of sperm?
• Linguistic Analysis: What words in the text describe the movement and function of sperm?

3. Further Discussion:

Why is it important for sperm to be stored outside the body in the testes?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "Sperm is created in the testes… travel through the epididymis… continue its journey through the vas deferens… exits the body through the urethra."
• Contextual Analysis: "The testes… located outside of the body… scrotum for protection… epididymis… vas deferens… urethra."
• Linguistic Analysis: Words like "travel," "swim," "journey," "mix," and "exit" describe the movement and function of sperm.

Lesson Summary

The male reproductive system makes sperm, which contains DNA and needs to join with an ovum from a female in order to create new life. Sperm is made in the testes, or testicles. It combines with fluid made by the seminal vesicles, and then travels through a series of tubes to exit the body. After leaving the testes, sperm goes through the epididymis, the vas deferens, and the urethra before leaving the body through the penis, an organ that contains muscles and houses the urethra, the tube that leads to the outside of the body.