TesticleA testicle, also called testis (pl. testes) is the male gonad in all gonochoric animals, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary, which is the female gonad. 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.
Sexual reproductionSexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete (haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote that develops into an organism composed of cells with two sets of chromosomes (diploid).
GameteA gamete ( GAM-eet ), reproductive cell, or sex cell, is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. The name gamete was introduced by the German cytologist Eduard Strasburger in 1878. The type of gamete an organism produces determines its sex and sets the basis for the sexual roles and sexual selection. Female gametes are called ova or egg cells, and male gametes are called sperm.
FemaleAn organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and males are results of the anisogamous reproduction system, wherein gametes are of different sizes (unlike isogamy where they are the same size).
EpididymisThe epididymis (; pl.: epididymides or ) is an elongated tubular genital organ attached to the posterior side of each one of the two male reproductive glands, the testicles. It is a single, narrow, tightly coiled tube which, in adult humans, is about 6 to 7 centimetres (2.4 to 2.8 in) in length; uncoiled, the tube would be approximately 6 m (20 feet) long. The epididymis connects the testicle to the vas deferens in the male reproductive system.
MammalClass of animals with milk-producing glandsA mammal (from Latin mamma 'breast') is a vertebrate animal of the classMammalia (). Mammals are characterized by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.
Sexual characteristicsSexual characteristics are physical traits of an organism (typically of a sexually dimorphic organism) which are indicative of or resultant from biological sexual factors. These include both primary sex characteristics, such as gonads, and secondary sex characteristics.
MaleMale (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces, or is organized to produce, the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to at least one ovum from a female, but some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
PenisIn many animals, a penis (; pl.: penises or penes) is the male sexual organ used to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in both vertebrates and invertebrates, but males do not bear a penis in every animal species. Furthermore, penises are not necessarily homologous. The term penis applies to many intromittent organs, but not to all.
OrganismAn organism is any living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Several criteria, few of which are widely accepted, have been proposed to define what constitutes an organism. Among the most common is that an organism has autonomous reproduction, growth, and metabolism. This would exclude viruses, even though they evolve like organisms.
BirthBirth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the fetus at a developmental stage when it is ready to feed and breathe. In some species, the offspring is precocial and can move around almost immediately after birth but in others, it is altricial and completely dependent on parenting.
FertilisationFertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or offspring. While processes such as insemination or pollination, which happen before the fusion of gametes, are also sometimes informally referred to as fertilisation, these are technically separate processes.
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