Interesting Facts About Human Reproductive System

Introduction to Reproductive System

The male and female reproductive systems of human beings are unique in their own way. The male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes, ducts, accessory glands and a penis that produces and transmits sperm to the female (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Physiology, Male Reproductive System

Go to source). The female reproductive system consists of two ovaries (which produce ova and secrete hormones), fallopian tubes, the uterus (a muscular organ that develops the fetus during its 40-week gestation period), vagina and external genitalia.

The functions of the female reproductive system are to produce egg cells or ova, receive sperm, provide a suitable environment for fusion (fertilization) of the egg and the sperm, child birth and finally, nourishment of the baby with breast milk until the baby is ready to take a mixed diet (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Physiology, Female Reproduction

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Interesting Facts on Reproductive System

1. A female can give birth to about 15 - 30 babies in a lifetime.
2. Both the male and female reproductive systems have the ability to produce the smallest (sperm) and the largest (ovum) cells in the human body. The sperm and the ovum are about 0.03 to 0.05 mm in length and 120mm in diameter, respectively (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   An illustration of human sperm morphology and their functional ability among different group of subfertile males
   
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3. The sperm count varies from 20 - 150 million and can also release up to 75 to 200 million sperms during an ejaculation (4^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Semen analysis
   
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4. Female ovaries contain about 1-2 million eggs at birth, but only 300,000 ovaries make it to puberty (5^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Biological versus chronological ovarian age: implications for assisted reproductive technology
   
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5. The lifespan of an ova is 12-24 hours after it is released from the ovary, while a sperm can live up to 3-5 days (6^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Natural methods of family planning
   
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6. The process of sperm production (spermatogenesis) requires an optimal temperature of 2-3ºC lower than the normal human body temperature and this is why scrotum, which contains testicles, is present outside body (7^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   The process of spermatogenesis liberates significant heat and the scrotum has a role in body thermoregulation
   
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7. Zygote is a single-cell entity, which is formed by a fusion of both the sperm and the egg (8^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Embryology, Week 1
   
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8. Androgens are the hormones which are responsible for the deep voice, body hair, height and muscles in men (9^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Androgens and hair growth
   
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9. Hormones (chemical messengers) released by the brain cause the ovaries to develop (10^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   The Endocrine System
   
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10. Fertilization is highly possible when the female is at the middle of her menstrual cycle. This is when the hormones promoting pregnancy are at their peak (11^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Menstrual Cycle Proliferative And Follicular Phase
    
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11. A female uterus is normally about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, which can expand up to 20 times during pregnancy. Uterus contains one of the strongest muscles in the female body (12^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Uterus
    
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12. Fallopian tubes are about 12 cm long and as wide as a sewing needle (13^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Fallopian Tube
    
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13. Vagina hosts many guarding bacteria that protect the female reproductive organs from external infections. These bacteria reside in a slightly acidic environment, lowering the pH of vagina.
14. At the 8th week of pregnancy, vital organs like brain, heart, skin and stomach are all developed with the embryo measuring only an adult’s thumb. Health of the fetus and its development is affected by the mother’s oral health (14^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Fetal Development: Week 8
    
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15. When the baby is in the womb, the body of the baby is covered by a thin layer of hair called lanugo that disappears when the baby is born (15^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Embryology, Lanugo
    
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