REPRODUCTION IN HUMANS

Formation of gametes
A Spermatogenesis
B Oogenesis
SPERMATOGENESIS
 Production of sperm
 Begins between ages
of 11 to 15 and
continues until death
 100 to 200 million
sperm are made a day
SPERMATOGENESIS
 Each seminiferous tubule
is surrounded by a layer of
epithelium on which sit
spermatogonia
 These divide by mitosis to
form dipolid cells
 Some of these cells move
towards the middle of the
tubule becoming primary
spermatocytes
SPERMATOGENESIS
 Primary spermatocytes
then divide by
meiosis.
 After first meiotic
division two
secondary
spermatocytes are
formed.
SPERMATOGENESIS
 Two or three days later
the secondary
spermatocytes undergo
a second meiotic
division to produce
haploid spermatids.
SPERMATOGENESIS
 The spermatids mature
over the next few
weeks into
spermatozoon.
 The whole process
takes about 64 days.
SPERMATOGENESIS
 At all stages the
developing sperm are
supported and nourished
by much larger non-
dividing cells called
Sertoli cells or nurse
cells.
 The fully developed sperm
are carried by a fluid
released by the Sertoli
cells.
OOGENESIS
 Each ovary weighs
about 15g and
contains many eggs at
different stages of
development.
 The process begins
when a girl is still an
embryo
Removing an ovarian cyst!
OOGENESIS
 5 or 6 weeks after zygote forms some cells
in embryo ovary undergo mitosis to produce
diploid oogonia
 By 24 weeks the embryo contains millions
of oogonia
 From then until 6 weeks after birth the
oogonia undergo a first meiotic division to
form primary oocytes.
OOGENESIS
 They remain half way
through this division
for many years.
 Most of the primary
oocytes disappear – by
puberty about 400 000
remain.
OOGENESIS
 As development
recommences some of
the surrounding ovary
cells form the
primordial follicle
which later develops
into the primary
follicle
OOGENESIS
 At puberty hormones
stimulate the primary
follicle to become a
secondary follicle
 One of these will
develop each 28 days
into an ovarian
follicle containing the
developing primary
oocyte
OOGENESIS
 The meiotic division
commenced as an
embryo now
completes.
 This results in a large
secondary oocyte and
a tiny polar body
OOGENESIS
 It is at this stage that
the oocyte is released
at the moment of
ovulation.
 The meiotic division
does not actually
complete until after
the sperm has entered
it.