chap 46 study guide

Reproduction

1. Why do organisms have a reproductive system?

2. Compare and contrast asexual and sexual reproduction in animals.  What are the costs and benefits of each? What environmental conditions make either asexual or sexual reproduction more advantageous?

3. What are four types of asexual reproduction we see in animals?

4. What is gametic meiosis?  Are individuals that undergo gametic meiosis haploid or diploid?  What does it mean to be oogamous?

5. What are gonads?  What is copulation?

6. What is fertilization?  Differentiate between internal and external fertilization.  What are the costs and benefits of each?

7. Differentiate between unisexual (separate sex) organisms and hermaphroditic organisms.  In what kind of situations is it beneficial to be hermaphroditic?

Human male reproductive system

1. Name the parts of the human male reproductive system and know their functions. 

2. Where in the testis does spermatogenesis begin?  Where do sperm finish maturing? 

3. What are the steps in spermatogenesis?  When does spermatogenesis occur in a male’s life?  When does it usually stop?

4. Know the route of the sperm as they travel through the male reproductive system and exit the body (the tubes in order).

5. Why are the testes found in the scrotum?

6. Distinguish between sperm and semen.

7. What structures of the male reproductive system contribute to the composition of semen? 

8. Describe the hormonal regulation of spermatogenesis.

Human female reproductive system

1. Name the parts of the human female reproductive system and know their functions. 

2. What is oogenesis?  Where are oocytes made?  What are the steps in oogenesis?  At what stages is meiosis halted?  When during a woman’s life do these events occur? What causes a secondary oocyte to finish meiosis?

3. What is ovulation?  Know the route of a secondary oocyte as it moves through the female reproductive system? Where does fertilization occur in humans? 

4. Give a complete description of the female ovarian cycle. Include in your description: average lengths of the cycle (remember this can vary individual to individual and cycle to cycle within an individual); average day of ovulation (same disclaimer as before with an average); what the follicular and luteal phases are; where FSH and LH come from, concentration changes of FSH and LH in the blood, what regulates those concentrations, and the role of FSH and LH; changes that take place in the ovary and to a follicle and what causes those changes; type and ploidy of the oocyte; ovulation; follicle vs. corpus luteum; concentrations of estrogen and progesterone in the blood, what causes those concentrations, and what these hormones do.

5. Which layer of the uterus is the one that thickens and sheds during the menstrual cycle?

6. Give a complete description of the female menstrual cycle. Include in your description: when menstruation occurs in the cycle; changes in the concentration of estrogen and progesterone and their role in regulating menstruation; changes that take place in the uterus over the cycle.

7. Putting both cycles together, make sure you understand how the hormonal regulation of the female reproductive system works.  Describe the function of each hormone and how collectively these hormones work to synchronize events that prepare for the possibility of a baby.

8. Describe the various types of contraception and how they relation to the male and female reproductive systems.

9. What are the symptothermal indicators that signal a woman has ovulated?

Human fertilization and development

1. Describe the basic anatomy of a sperm cell.  How does the anatomy of a sperm cell help with its function?  Describe how fertilization occurs.  What barriers does the sperm cell have to pass through for fertilization to occur?  What are the fast and slow blocks following fertilization?  What are they blocking?

2. In humans, where does fertilization occur? How long does human development take before birth (on average)?  What is a zygote?  In embryonic development, what is the process of cleavage?

3. In humans, when does cleavage begin after fertilization? When and at what stage does the embryo enter the uterus and implant? Place the timing of the entry of the embryo into the context of the ovarian and menstrual cycle.

4. What is a blastocyst?

5. What is hCG?  Where does it come from?  What does it do?

6. Where does the placenta come from? Describe the structure and function of the placenta.

7. When does a developing baby start being called a fetus?  Human gestation is usually divided into how many phases?  When are anatomy scans normally performed on health fetuses?

8. In a baby, what is one the last organ systems to finish developing?  (hint: the reason premature babies need artificial surfactants)

9. Describe the human birthing process. (Include hormones and the three stages.)