Unit 1: Human Reproduction
Review: Characteristics of living organisms
All living organisms share the following seven characteristics:
Ø Movement: they can move and change their position.
Ø Reproduction: they can make more of the same kind of organism as themselves.
Ø Sensitivity: they can detect or sense stimuli and respond to them.
Ø Growth: they can permanently increase their size or dry mass by increasing the
number or size of their cells.
Ø Respiration: they can create chemical reactions that break down nutrient
molecules in living cells to release energy.
Ø Excretion: they can excrete toxic materials, waste products of metabolism, and
excess substances (note that excretion is not the same as egestion).
Ø Nutrition: they can take in and absorb nutrients such as organic substances and
mineral ions to produce energy needed for growth and tissue repair.
The first letter of each of these characteristics makes up the acronym ‘MRS GREN’. This is a good way of remembering them.
Reproduction
No individual lives forever and
if the species is to survive, the
individuals must replace
themselves before they die.
The generation of new
individuals is called
reproduction.
Living organisms can pass on
their characteristics to the
next generation (reproduce) in
two ways:
Asexual reproduction
Binary Fission
Ø Involves only one parent
organism.
Ø All the characteristics of
this one parent are passed
on to all of the offspring.
Fragmentation
Ø Produces genetically
identical offspring from one
parent.
Ø Many organisms reproduce
asexually when conditions
are favourable (e.g. when
there is plenty of food) and
build up their numbers
quickly.
Sexual reproduction
Ø Requires two organisms of the same species, one female and one male.
Ø Each individual produces sex cells (gametes).
Ø Always involves fertilisation – the fusion of the gametes to produce a zygote.
Ø Offspring receives some genes from each parent, so show a mixture of parental
characteristics.
Ø Each of the offspring is different to other offspring and to the parents.
The male reproductive system
Testes
The two testes (one is called a testis) are contained in a bag of skin called the scrotum. They have two
functions:
• to produce sperm (the male gametes or sex cells)
• to make the hormone testosterone
Sperm duct and glands
The sperm pass through the sperm ducts, and mix with fluids produced by glands (seminal vesicles).
The fluids provide the sperm cells with nutrients. This mixture is called semen.
Penis and urethra
The penis has two functions:
• to pass urine out of the body from the bladder
• to pass semen into the vagina of a woman during sexual intercourse
The urethra is the tube inside the penis that can carry urine or semen. A ring of muscle ensures that
urine and semen do not get mixed up.
The male reproductive system
The female reproductive system
Ovaries
The two ovaries contain ova (eggs). Ova are the female gametes or sex cells. Women have these cells in their bodies
from birth, whereas men produce new sperm continually.
Oviducts
Each ovary is connected to the uterus by an oviduct (fallopian tube). The oviduct is lined with ciliated cells. Every
month, an ovum (egg) develops and becomes mature, and is released from an ovary. The cilia waft the ovum along
inside the oviduct and into the uterus.
Uterus and cervix
The uterus is a muscular bag with a soft lining. It is where a baby develops until its birth. The cervix is a ring of muscle
at the lower end of the uterus. It keeps the baby in place while the woman is pregnant.
Vagina and urethra
The vagina is a muscular tube that leads from the cervix to the outside of the woman's body. A man's penis goes into
the woman's vagina during sexual intercourse. The opening to the vagina has folds of skin called labia that meet to
form a vulva.
The urethra also opens into the vulva, but it is separate from the vagina. It passes urine out of the body from the
bladder.
The female reproductive system
Puberty
When secondary sexual characteristics develop and the potential for sexual
reproduction is reached (sperm production or ovulation).
• Changes are controlled by hormones that initiate development of secondary
sex characteristics
• Primary sex characteristics are internal and external reproductive organs
(genitalia)
Puberty
Reproductive hormones
The Menstrual Cycle
The menstrual cycle is a recurring
process which takes around 28 days.
During the process, the lining of the
uterus is prepared for pregnancy. If
pregnancy does not happen, the
lining is then shed. This is known
as menstruation.
The Menstrual Cycle
Hormones in the menstrual cycle
Several hormones control this cycle – for example, they are involved in controlling the release
of an egg each month from an ovary, and changing the thickness of the uterus lining.
Revision Exercises
1. Female gametes are released at ovulation. The female gamete (ovum) is quite different to
the sperm.
a) Define ovulation.
b) Complete this table to compare sperm and ova.
Feature Sperm cells Egg cells (ova)
Site of production
Numbers produced
Mobility
Relative size
Revision Exercises
2.
a) The calendar below shows the menstrual cycle for a woman in June 2016.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
Key Menstruation
When the egg is in the oviduct
Ovulation (the release of an egg)
Revision Exercises
2.
a)
i. State how many days of menstruation are shown during June 2016.
ii. Assume that this woman has identical menstrual cycles from month to month.
State the date in early July 2016 that would be the last day of menstruation.
iii. Explain why fertilisation could not occur on the 7th June 2016 even if active sperms
are released into the vagina.
Revision Exercises
2.
b) The changes in the thickness of the uterus wall during the menstrual cycle are affected
by the hormones progesterone and oestrogen.
i. State which hormone reaches its maximum 1 to 2 days before menstruation.
ii. State which hormone reaches its maximum 1 to 2 days before ovulation.
Revision Exercises
2.
c) The hormone oestrogen is also involved in the changes to the female’s body that occur
at puberty.
i. State the name of the equivalent male hormone that influences the male body at
puberty.
ii. List three changes that occur in the female body at puberty.
Activity
1. Define the terms conception, copulation and fertilisation. In what order do these events occur?
Ovulation to Conception and Fertilization of the Ovum: [Link]
1. Outline the steps of fertilisation.
2. It is possible for humans to intervene in the process of reproduction. Describe IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) and AID
(Artificial Insemination by Donor) and suggest how this processes raise ethical problems for the medical profession.
How in vitro fertilization (IVF) works - Nassim Assefi and Brian A. Levine:
[Link]
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI):
[Link]
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4. What name is given to the complete period from fertilisation to birth?
5. The growth of the fetus is due to an increase in the number of cells of which it is made. A newborn baby has about 30
million million cells. Remember that each cell divides into two, and each of these two into two more (a total of four) and
so on. Calculate approximately how many divisions were necessary to produce the baby from the zygote.
6. Cell division is part of the overall process of production of the baby. Which other process runs alongside cell division?
Define this process.
Activity - Answers
1. Define the terms conception, copulation and fertilisation. In what order do these events occur?
Conception:
Copulation:
Fertilisation:
Order:
Activity - Answers
2. Outline the steps of fertilisation.
Activity - Answers
3. It is possible for humans to intervene in the process of reproduction. Describe IVF (In Vitro
Fertilisation) and AID (Artificial Insemination by Donor) and suggest how this processes
raise ethical problems for the medical profession.
Activity - Answers
4. What name is given to the complete period from fertilisation to birth?
Activity - Answers
5. The growth of the fetus is due to an increase in the number of cells of which it is made. A
newborn baby has about 30 million million cells. Remember that each cell divides into two,
and each of these two into two more (a total of four) and so on. Calculate approximately
how many divisions were necessary to produce the baby from the zygote.
Activity - Answers
6. Cell division is part of the overall process of production of the baby. Which other process
runs alongside cell division? Define this process.