THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM; ANATOMICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL EXPLANATION

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM; ANATOMICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL EXPLANATION

Anatomical: The male reproductive organs include the scrotum, the testes, the
seminal vesicles, the ejaculatory ducts, the prostate, the urethra and the penis.
The scrotum is a sac of pigmented skin overlying fibrous tissue and smooth muscle
and is located below the pubic symphysis. The seminal vesicles are two fibromuscular
reservoirs lying behind the prostate, close to the posterior wall of the bladder. The
prostate is an accessory gland located behind the pubic symphysis, in front of the
rectum and below the bladder, and flanked laterally by the levator ani muscles.
It is traversed by the urethra and the ejaculatory ducts.
Physiological: The prostate is made up of a collection of small blind follicles that
secrete prostatic fluid, which acts as a diluting fluid for the spermatozoa. The
scrotum protects the testes, which are mixed glands with two functions: endocrine
function, (androgen secretion) and exocrine function (spermatogenesis).
Clinical: Age, consumption of alcohol, smoking, and abnormalities in the formation,
quality, quantity and movements of spermatozoa in the genital tract can be
responsible for male subfertility. Aspermia is the complete absence of or presence
of less than 0.5 mL of semen on ejaculation; azoospermia is the complete absence
of spermatozoa in the ejaculate.