Female and male sex glands

The sexual glands of the human body perform a number of important functions: determine the physiological characteristics of sex and are responsible for reproduction. They are characterized by a mixed type of secretion, since they produce both sex cells and specific hormones. Female and male gonads have some features. Nevertheless, the regulation of the glands is carried out by gonadotropic hormones of the pituitary gland.

Male gonads . Male genital glands are represented by testicles in which spermatozoa (sex cells) are produced, as well as androgens (specific male hormones).

The processes of spermatogenesis occur in the so-called Leydig cells. The formation of spermatozoa goes almost continuously - beginning with the period of puberty and ending with the age of 50 to 60 years (this is individual data), when the testes atrophy, and their physiological activity slowly fades. Ripening cells in the appendages of the testicles.

Male sperm consists of a head, neck, tail and flagellum, with which it can move. On the head of the cell there is a so-called acrosome, which contains enzymes that destroy the shell of the egg. In the female vagina, the sperm can be active up to 6 days.

As for sex hormones, the most important is testosterone, whose products are regulated by the luteinizing hormone of the pituitary gland. This hormone is of great importance in the development of the male body, since it is responsible for:

• Increase and active development of genital organs during puberty;
• Development of hairy style for the male type;
• Change the tone of the voice;
• Active growth and development of muscles;
• Formation of bones;
• The appearance of attraction to people of the opposite sex;

As you can see, the sex glands of men perform quite important functions. For example, in cases of violation of the processes of spermatogenesis, a person is not capable of producing offspring. And with a lack of sex hormones, so-called eunuchoidism develops - a man has a fat deposit on his chest, hips and buttocks, body parts grow disproportionately, the sexual organs remain underdeveloped, there is no sexual attraction, and psychological deviations develop.

Female sex glands . Women's gonads are represented by ovaries, in which oocytes mature and feminine hormones are synthesized : estrogens and progesterone. Each female ovary consists of two balls: stroma and cortical substance.

Follicles with ovaries at different stages of maturation are located in the cortical substance. And if in men the process of formation of spermatozoons goes on throughout life, then in women all sex cells are laid even during embryonic development. In a month, only one egg ripens, which ruptures the follicle and moves along the fallopian tube. In place of the follicle, a yellow body is formed, which then turns into white, then a small scar remains in place of the released egg.

Sex glands in women produce specific hormones: progesterone and estrogens. Estrogens perform a number of functions:

• Are responsible for the increase in external and internal genital organs during puberty;
• Form the female type of hair;
• Accelerate the development of mammary glands;
• Inhibit the growth of bones in length;
• Stimulate the processes of fat synthesis, which are then deposited on the chest, abdomen, thighs and buttocks - these are the features of the female physique;

Progesterone is secreted by a yellow body. Its main function is to prepare the endometrium of the uterus for the introduction of a fertilized egg. This hormone also affects the mammary glands, causing them to swell.

If the sexual glands of a woman work incorrectly, then it is fraught with infertility, delayed sexual development, psychological trauma.