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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
A testicle or testis (pl. testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The release of testosterone is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary gland.
Genetic sex determines whether the gonads will be testes or ovaries. In the developing embryo if the testes are developed, it will produce and secrete male sex hormones during late embryonic development and cause the secondary sex organs of the male to develop. [4]
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 ...
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.
Despite the differences between them, the adult male and female are determined in early development in the 6th week. The gonads and external genitals are derived from the intermediate mesoderm. [7] The three main fetal precursors of the reproductive organs are the Wolffian duct, the Müllerian ducts, and the gonads.
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.
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.