Reproductive Anatomy Men and Women (freshman health)

PENIS (men)

Made up of shaft, glans, and foreskin.

• Allows passage of urine and semen.

• Provides sensation (has many nerve endings).

• The average penis measures 3-4 inches when it's not erect (flaccid) and 5-7 inches when erect.

FORESKIN (both)

• Protects the glans of the penis.

• Provides sensation.

• Males who have been circumcised don't have one.

SCROTUM (men)

• Muscular sac which is shorter when cold, longer when warm.

• Holds testes.

• Controls temperature.

• Provides sensation.

TESTES/TESTICLES (men)

• Produces sperm and sex hormones (androgens and testosterone).

• Each is made of 500-1,200 feet of tightly coiled tubes.

EPIDIDYMIS (men)

Allows maturation of sperm.

SPERMATAZOA (sperm) (men)

• Cell from a man called sperm.
• Sperm carry the strings of genes (called chromosomes) or DNA instructions in case the sperm meets with an egg cell and fertilizes it.

SPERMATIC CORDS (men)

• Suspends the testicles.
• Supply blood to the testicles.
• Provide sensation.
• Carry sperm from the testicles.

VAS DEFERENS (men)

• Provides storage for sperm.

• Allow passage of sperm.

• Provides sensation.

• Carries sperm from the testes.

SEMINAL VESICLES (men)

Contributes fructose (sugar) to semen for nourishing the sperm.

SEMEN (men)

• Helps sperm live longer and travel better.

• About a teaspoon per ejaculation.

• Contains hundreds of millions of sperm.

PROSTATE GLAND (men)

Produces most of the fluid that makes up semen.

COWPER'S GLAND (men) (also called bulbourethral glands)

• Pair of glands.

• Produces pre-ejaculatory fluid (called "pre-cum") that clean the urethra to protect sperm. Some pre-ejaculatory fluid may contain sperm.

UTERUS/WOMB (girl)

• Houses and protects embryo/fetus/baby.

• Allows nutrient & waste exchange with placenta during pregnancy.

• Nourishes an embryo before a placenta grows.

CERVIX (girl)

• The bottom section of the uterus.

• Produces fluids to help sperm travel.

• Produces a mucus plug to keep out germs during pregnancy.

VAGINA

• Allows passage of sperm.

• Produces fluid daily to cleanse and lubricate itself and help sperm travel.

• Allows passage of shed endometrium during menstrual period.

• Allows passage of baby.

• Provides sensation (has many nerve endings especially in outer third).

• A collapsed tube, like a deflated balloon.

• Three inches long when not aroused and five to six inches long when aroused and very stretchy.

• Is the middle of the three openings between a female's legs.

HYMEN (girl)

• Membrane some females have that partly covers the vaginal opening.
• Some girls are born without a hymen.
• May be stretched during use of a tampon.

OVUM ("egg cell")

• Carries strings of genes called chromosomes which mix with chromosomes of sperm if fertilization occurs.
• They dissolve in the Fallopian tube after about 24 hours if not fertilized.

OVARY (girl)

• Provide storage for the ovum (eggs).
• Allow maturation of the ovum.
• Produce sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone and androgens).

FALLOPIAN TUBES (girl)

• Allow passage of ovum toward uterus.
• Allow passage of sperm from uterus.

FIMBRIA (girl)

• Guides a mature ovum, when it is released from an ovary, into a Fallopian tube.
• Fringe-like or finger-like outer ends of the Fallopian tubes.

SKENE'S GLANDS (girl)

• Area of firm tissue towards the front wall of the vagina surrounding the urethra.
• Responds to pressure sometimes causing orgasm that may or may not produce fluid (the fluid is not urine).
• Also known as the Graffenberg-spot (G-spot) or the female prostate gland.

VULVA (girl) (made up of labia majora, labia minora, and clitoris)

• Protect opening of urethra and vagina, as eyelids protect eyes.
• Provide sensation (has many nerve endings).
• Labia are folds of skin.
• Outer labia (labia majora) have pubic hair.

CLITORIS (girl) (made up of shaft, crura [internal branches], glans and hood)

• Provides sensation (has many nerve endings).
• Each internal branch of erectile tissue is about 3.5 inches long.
• The glans (the visible part) is usually 0.25-0.5 inches long, comparable in size to a pearl at the front of the vulva where the labia meet.

CLITORIAL HOOD (girl)

• Protects the glans of the clitoris.
• Provides sensation (has many nerve endings).
• Like a cap, mostly covers the clitoris when it is not erect.

NAVEL (both)

• Allows passage of oxygen and nourishment before birth.
• After birth it serves no purpose.
• Not part of the reproductive system.

ABDOMEN (both) (also called the belly)

• Contains most of our internal organs.

• The part of the body between the rib cage and pelvis.

PELVIS (both)

• Bowl-shaped bone structure that supports and protects the internal reproductive organs.

• Men's and women's pelvises are shaped differently so that women can give birth if they choose.

CILIA (both)

• Hair-like structures which line the Fallopian tubes and the epididymis.

• Sweep an ovum down the Fallopian tube or the sperm cells through the epididymis.

BLADDER (both)

• Provides storage for urine.

• Not part of the reproductive system.

URETHRA (both)

• Allows passage of urine.

• In males, allows passage of semen.

• In males, is the tube inside the penis.

• In females, it is below the clitoris and above the opening to the vagina.

• Not part of the reproductive system.

• Some females ejaculate a clear fluid that is not urine from their urethra during orgasm. This is normal and natural and women should not think they are urinating during orgasm if this happens.

ANUS (both)

• Allows passage of bowel movements (feces).

• Provides sensation (has many nerve endings).

• The opening from the rectum and lower intestines.

• Not part of the reproductive system.