Human Sexuality Unit:

Reproductive Systems
Ground Rules:

1. Realize that you all come from

different backgrounds! 
2. We will use correct anatomical
terms in here so that we learn
them.
3. Question Box – on the bookshelf.
Please put your period:______
odd/even on question.
4. Make sure everything you say, do
or write in this unit is SCHOOL
APPROPRIATE!
What are we going to be studying?

1. Male and Female anatomy and function

2. Pregnancy and childbirth
3. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (only a few: the rest in 11th
grade)
4. Contraception
5. Abstinence
 Pair/Share
Why do teenagers get pregnant?
 Why do teenagers get pregnant?
• not thinking
• getting caught up in the moment -hormones
• believing they couldn’t get pregnant
• being drunk
• feeling pressured to have unprotected sex
• being too embarrassed to ask a partner to use contraception
• curiosity
• think everyone else is “doing it”
• culture: tells us the decision to have sex is NOT a big deal…
it is a BIG deal !.
• 3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at
least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000
teen pregnancies every year.
• Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls
drop out of school. More than 50% of teen
mothers never graduate from high school.
• About 25% of teen moms have a 2nd child within
24 months of their first baby.
• Less than 2% of teen moms earn a college
degree by age 30.
  How do the male and female
reproductive systems differ?
• Males have external organs, females have
internal organs
• Male sperm production begins at puberty,
females are born with ova
• Males produce millions of sperm, females
release one ovum each month
Facts about the reproductive systems…

Size of sex cells:

– Female ovum =
1/175th inch
– Male sperm = 500
lined up tail to tail
would equal one inch
 Production of sex cells

Females are born with 200,000 –

400,000 immature ova. Approximately 375 will be
released in a lifetime!

One spoonful of semen can contain 100 million –

300 million sperm!
Sperm • Head- contains DNA, which
when combined with the egg's
DNA, will create a new
individual… tip of sperm head
is called the acrosome, which
enables the sperm to
penetrate the egg.

• Midpiece- contains
mitochondria which supplies
the energy the tail needs to
move.

• Tail- moves with whip-like

movements back and forth to
propel the sperm towards the
egg.
The Endocrine System regulates long term changes in your body like growth and
development. It also controls many of your body’s daily activities.
A hormone is a chemical substance produced by an endocrine gland.

Puberty is a period of sexual development during which a person becomes sexually mature
and physically able to reproduce.
#8 Testes
Reproductive glands; produce sperm and testosterone

#7 Scrotum
Sac-like pouch; holds testes and helps regulate temperature

#6 Epididymis
Comma-shaped structure with a duct system; where sperm mature

Vas Deferens
Two long, thin tubes; provide passage and storage for sperm .
#5 Seminal Vesicles
Two sac like structures that produce fluids to help keep sperm alive

#3 Prostate Gland
Produces some parts of the semen

#2 Urethra
Structure through which urine and semen pass out of body

Penis
Tube-shaped sex organ; used for reproduction and urination
#1 Bladder
#2 Urethra
#3 Prostate Gland
#4 Erectile Tissue
#5 Seminal Vesicle
#6 Epididymus
#7 Scrotum
#8 Testes
 ADDITIONAL TERMS TO KNOW
• Sperm: male reproductive cells

• Testosterone: hormone that produces male

secondary sex characteristics

• Semen: thick fluid that contains sperm and

secretions from male reproductive organs

• Erection: penis swells with blood and elongates

• Ejaculation: release of semen from the penis as a
result of muscular contractions

• Nocturnal emission (wet dreams): an

involuntary discharge of semen during sleep
Circumcisio
n:
foreskin is
removed
surgically
after birth
Male Reproductive System Class Activity:

Held in the scrotum, …….

A valve within the urethra prevents the two fluids from mixing.
Several million sperm are released during one ejaculation.
Held in the scrotum, are two testicles, where millions of sperm cells
are produced. The undeveloped sperm cells move to the
epididymus where they mature. During sexual excitement, blood
fills up the erectile tissue of the penis, causing an erection. Sperm
then travel through the vas deferens. When ejaculation occurs,
sperm cells mix with fluid from the seminal vesicles and the
prostate gland. The mixture of sperm cells and seminal fluid is
called semen. Semen is then forced through the urethra. The
urethra carries urine as well as semen to the outside of the body,
but not at the same time. A valve within the urethra prevents the
two fluids from mixing. Several million sperm are released during
one ejaculation.
Go to [Link] /
click the “Teens” tab/ choose sexual health/
male reproductive system
Female reproductive syste
m
 Endometrium Fallopian Tube
(inside lining)

Ovary
Uterus –
(outside) Cervix

Vagina
A. Ovaries
Reproductive glands; produce ova and estrogen
B. Fallopian Tubes
Four-inch long tube; connects ovary to uterus
C. Endometrium
Inner lining of the uterus, thickens to receive the
fertilized egg
D. Vagina
Muscular tube to outside of body; organ for sexual
intercourse; birth canal
E. Uterus
Muscular organ; supports fetilized egg during
pregnancy; contracts during childbirth
F. Cervix
Lowest part of the uterus; connects to vagina
• Ova: female reproductive cells
• Estrogen / progesterone: hormones that
produce female secondary sex characteristics
• Ovulation: process of releasing one mature
ovum each month
• Menstration: unfertilized egg and lining of
uterus leave body in menstrual flow
Clitoris - small, highly sensitive structure located
above the opening to the urethra
Labia minora/Labia majora – folds of skin
covering the opening to the vagina
Vulva: the outside part of the female reproductive
system

Menstruation or having a period:

[Link]
 Fertility Awareness or “Fertile” Days of a menstrual cycle:

• Track your period for about 3-4 months.

• Ovulation occurs about 13-14 days before menstruation begins.
• The egg cell lives anywhere from 12-24 hours.
• The sperm cell can live for 3-5 days inside the female reproductive system.
• During ovulation, the cervix dilates (opens) and the cervical mucus thins to
promote fertilization
There is an app for everything…
Menstrual Cycle

21 January 2026
 Define fertilization
Explain the events
of the menstrual
cycle and how the
menstrual cycle
links with Identify key events on a
pregnancy diagram of the menstrual
Fertilization, cycle
Menstruation,
Cycle, Hormone,
Explain why pregnancy is more or
Oestrogen, less likely at certain stages of the
Progesterone, FSH, menstrual cycle
LH
 List all the changes that occur in
males and females during
puberty.
Female Male
Fertilization

What is fertilization?
• Consider what the image above is showing you
• Why is it important?
Fertilization is when a sperm cell joins with an egg
cell. It is important because this is how reproduction
occurs in most living things including humans
The menstrual cycle

• What
changes?
• Why does it
change?
• What causes
it to
change?
 What is the menstrual cycle?
• The process in which females ripen or release one mature
egg.
• The average menstrual cycle will repeat itself about every
28 days, but normal menstrual cycles can range from 21 to
40 days.
 Changes in the Ovaries:
• Stage 1 - An egg is beginning to mature within a
cluster of cells called a follicle
• Stage 2 - Rapid follicle and egg growth
• Stage 3 - Ovulation occurs; fully mature egg
bursts out of the follicle (fertile) empty follicle
transforms into the corpus luteum
• Stage 4 - Egg travels through fallopian tube (7
days) if not fertilized upon arrival in uterus the
corpus luteum shrinks triggering menstruation and
ripening of new egg.
 Changes in the Uterus:
• Stage 1- Menstruation- Endometrium
breaks down and blood, mucus, tissue, and
the egg are shed through the vagina.
• Stage 2- Menstrual flow stops &
endometrium begins to thicken.
• Stage 3- Endometrium continues to thicken.
• Stage 4- The endometrium is at it’s thickest
point.
The menstrual cycle
is the body’s way of
preparing for
pregnancy.

It only happens in
females.

It is controlled by
chemicals called
hormones.
Several hormones are involved
in the menstrual cycle of a
woman:

• follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) causes the
maturation of an egg in the
ovary.
• luteinising hormone
(LH) stimulates the release of
the egg.
• oestrogen is involved in
repairing and thickening the
uterus lining
• Progesterone maintains the
uterus lining
 LH is secreted by the pituitary
gland. When its level reaches a
peak it stimulates the release of a
mature egg from the ovary -
ovulation
FSH is secreted by the
pituitary gland. It makes
eggs mature and The level of oestrogen
stimulates the ovary to rises. This inhibits the After the egg is released the level
produce oestrogen. production of more FSH of progesterone rise and
and stimulates the build up maintains the lining of the uterus
of the lining of the uterus - in preparation for the
proliferation implantation of the fertilised egg.

Uterus lining
breaks down -
menstruation

Lining of
Lining
uterus
maintained
builds up
 4 hormones
The Menstrual involved:
Cycle • FSH
• Oestrogen
• LH
The main events in the cycle are:
1) Menstruation – uterus lining• breaks
Progesterone
down, blood and
cells are lost.
2) Proliferation – repair of the uterus lining.
3) Ovulation – release of an egg from the ovary – day 14

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cycle starts
again
Label the key events on this menstrual State where in the menstrual
cycle timeline cycle pregnancy is most
likely to occur. Justify your
answer

Challenge: Apply
knowledge of the
menstrual cycle to
graphs showing
the hormones
involved.
Today
s Describe the process of
Lesso menstruation
n

Last
Recall the key components of the
Lesso
female reproductive system
n

Last
Last Explain the importance of
Lesso adaptations
n
PMS = Premenstrual Syndrome

• Physical and emotional symptoms a female

experiences prior to getting her period

• Caused by hormonal changes

• Symptoms include: anxiety, depressed mood,

crying spells, mood swings and irritability, anger,
food cravings, insomnia, poor concentration
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare, life-
threatening complication of bacterial
infection in the blood. Toxic shock syndrome has
been associated with:

• Using superabsorbent tampons

• Wearing a diaphragm or contraceptive sponge
• Having a staph or strep infection, especially if you
have skin wounds or healing surgical incisions
Symptoms of TSS:
• Fever over 102 F
• vomiting or diarrhea
• A rash resembling a sunburn with peeling skin,
especially on the palms and soles
• dizziness or mental confusion
• Pale and clammy skin, signaling a rapid drop in blood
pressure; if toxic shock is left untreated at this stage, it
will quickly lead to loss of consciousness, cardiac
and respiratory failure, and death.
Menopause:
permanent end of
menstruation and fertility
due to decreasing levels
of hormones. Usually
occurs around 45-55.