Elementary School Lessons

Review Notes for 5th grade Science covering Reproductive System.

MALE reproductive system
• Primary male reproductive organs are the testes, enclosed in a suspended sac-like structure called scrotum.

• Each testis has coiled tubes known as seminiferous tubules. Uncoiled, these measure 250meters. Inside the tubules are packs of cells that produce sperm cells.

• Epididymis is a set of coiled tubes (one for each testis) where sperm cells are temporarily stored.

• Vas deferens is a muscular tube that transports the sperm-containing fluid called semen.

• Seminal vesicles are structures attached to the vas deferens beside the urinary bladder.

• The prostate gland is located at the base of the urethra, just below the bladder. It produces part of the semen.

• The channel that carries the semen to the outside of the body through the penis is the urethra.

• Found between seminiferous tubules are interstitial cells that produce the male sex hormones called testosterone. Testosterone is the hormone responsible for the development of secondary male characteristics like facial hair growth and deepening of the voice, among others.

• A hormone is a substance that has a specific effect on a body activity.