Human Aanatomy and Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Aanatomy and Physiology - Essay Example Human males are capable of producing sperm throughout their lives that numbers in the millions. In females however, eggs are produced only in the hundreds. In fact, when females are still in utero, they produce all of the eggs that they will produce in a lifetime. These eggs then enter into Prophase I and stay dormant in this state until such time that the female begins puberty. At this time, eggs may continue undergoing meiosis to completion. This takes place with each egg one by one until menopause, resulting in monthly cycles until then. It is also important to note that not all of a female’s eggs will ever resume meiosis. Some will simply be reabsorbed by her body. In addition, at time of menstruation, the female will release one egg from the ovaries into the uterus to await fertilization. Males on the other hand have millions of sperm that can be released in mass proportion upon each ejaculation. The pathway taken by sperm as they leave the testes and travel through the body is as follows: sperm originate in the seminal vesicles which are located at the bladder’s base. Each seminal vesicle is joined with a vas deferens in order to form an ejaculatory duct. These ducts are fused with the urethra. During the path taken from the vasa deferentia into the urethra, the sperm acquire a thick, alkaline liquid. This liquid id provided by the prostate and is a nutrient rich solution for the health and motility of the traveling sperm. Upon ejaculation, the bulbourethral glands emit a mucous like secretion, followed by expulsion of sperm from the male body. The structure and function of male accessory glands are as follows: male accessory glands are composed of the ductus deferens, the epididymis, the urethra and the ejaculatory duct. This is a network of ducts in which the sperm travels to get from inside the body (the testes) to the outer portion of the body (the penis). The