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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
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.
The main male sex organs are the penis and the scrotum, which contains the testicles that produce semen and sperm, which, as part of sexual intercourse, fertilize an ovum in the female's body; the fertilized ovum develops into a fetus, which is later born as an infant. The corresponding system in females is the female reproductive system.
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.
This occurs between the time they inhabit the forming gonads on the genital ridge to the time they migrate to the basement membrane of the seminiferous cords. Gonocyte development consists of several phases of cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. [4] [5] The abnormal development of gonocytes leads to fertility-related ...
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.
In the mature male, the function of this system is to store and mature sperm, and provide accessory semen fluid.The mesonephric duct (precursor of the male reproductive system) forms around the 3-4th week of pregnancy, present before the paramesonephric duct (precursor of the female reproductive system).
The development of the reproductive system is the part of embryonic growth that results in the sex organs and contributes to sexual differentiation. Due to its large overlap with development of the urinary system , the two systems are typically described together as the genitourinary system .