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Your Reproductive System
Given the
secretiveness with which we frequently shroud our bodies, it's no wonder
that most people aren't really sure how their bodies work. Sure, most of us
attended Sex Ed classes when we were kids, but how much do you remember from
those bygone days? About as much as you do of your high school math? While sex
is more interesting than math--at least to most people--the perceived complexity
with which our reproductive organs work can seem just as confusing as algebra.
Take a minute to refresh your memory. Your body isn't as complicated as you
think.
The Female Sex Organs
Female genitalia is usually grouped into two types of sex organs: internal and external.
External organs include the sensitive and erotic sex organs: mons pubis, vagina,
labia majora, labia minora and clitoris (also known collectively as the vulva). Internal
organs include the uterus, Fallopian tubes and ovaries, which contain the female's
sex cells: the ova, or eggs. Unlike the
male, the female does not continue to produce sex cells throughout her life.
Rather, each female is born with an individual quantity of unripened eggs already
in place. Each month, an egg is released from one of the ovaries and moves into
one of the Fallopian tubes, where it travels down towards the uterus. If
fertilization occurs, the egg clings to the uterine wall and begins to develop
into a fetus, which is nurtured by the rich lining of the uterus for nine months, until
it is ready to move down the vaginal canal and into the world. If the egg is
not fertilized, it passes out of the uterus through the cervix, along with a
portion of the no-longer-necessary uterine membrane the uterus had prepared
for fertilization--this is a woman's menstrual period. Most women are also born
with a hymen, a thin membrane that lies on the inside of the vagina. Some blood
may issue from the tearing of this membrane during first intercourse. Although
different cultures may attach an importance to this as a sign of virginity,
the hymen often is torn during the course of normal daily activities long before
a woman may ever have intercourse.
External Female Genitalia:
Internal Female Genitalia:
The Male Sex Organs
The male reproductive system is almost entirely external.
The penis consists of the urethra, the shaft, a number of sensitive nerve endings,
and the glans, also known as the head of the penis, which is covered with the
foreskin, a loose layer of skin often surgically removed in a procedure known
as circumcision. Testicles (testis singular, testes plural) are the male gonads,
the organs that produce sperm. Most men have two testes, which are suspended
from the body by the spermatic cord and rest inside the scrotum, a sac that
hangs under the penis. Divided internally into two pouches by a thin membrane,
the scrotum is covered by an outer layer of thin, wrinkled skin which in turn
covers a layer of muscle, which acts as a protective covering and serves to
maintain the testicular temperature at about 2 degrees below abdominal temperature.
Sperm is produced in the testes, then travels through the vas deferens, seminal
vesicles and prostate; en route, it picks up testosterone, seminal fluid and
prostate fluid, all of which combine to form semen. When a man experiences sexual
arousal, the penis fills with blood and becomes erect. At climax, semen, filled
with several million sperm, shoots from the urethra and tries to fertilize an
egg. If the sperm is successful, a fetus forms over the next several months.
If not, it's no big deal for the reproductive system--it produces several billion
sperm a day!
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