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A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland [1] is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. [2] The male gonad, the testicle, produces sperm in the form of spermatozoa. The female gonad, the ovary, produces egg cells
Male gonad (testes, left) and female gonad (ovaries, right) Males have two testicles of similar size contained within the scrotum, which is an extension of the abdominal wall. [1] Scrotal asymmetry, in which one testicle extends farther down into the scrotum than the other, is common. This is because of the differences in the vasculature's ...
The gonadal ridge, in turn, develops into a gonad. This is a testis in the male and an ovary in the female. At first, the mesonephros and gonadal ridge are continuous, but as the embryo grows the gonadal ridge gradually becomes pinched off from the mesonephros. However, some cells of mesonephric origin join the gonadal ridge.
This list of related male and female reproductive organs shows how the male and female reproductive organs and the development of the reproductive system are related, sharing a common developmental path. This makes them biological homologues. These organs differentiate into the respective sex organs in males and females.
Genes associated with the developing gonad can be categorized into those that form the sexually indifferent gonad, those that determine whether the indifferent gonad will differentiate as male or female, and those that promote differentiation into male or female parts. Genes that form the sexually indifferent gonad are SF1 and WT1.
The primary sex organs are the gonads, a pair of internal sex organs, which diverge into testicles following male development or into ovaries following female development. [8] As primary sex organs, gonads generate reproductive gametes containing inheritable DNA. They also produce most of the primary hormones that affect sexual development, and ...
In the male, the paramesonephric ducts atrophy (but traces of their anterior ends are represented by the appendix of testis of the male), while their terminal fused portions form the prostatic utricle in the floor of the prostatic urethra. This is due to the production of anti-Müllerian hormone by the Sertoli cells of the testes.
Male development can only occur when the fetal testis secretes key hormones at a critical period in early gestation. The testes begin to secrete three hormones that influence the male internal and external genitalia: they secrete anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), testosterone , and dihydrotestosterone (DHT).