Reproductive system

The reproductive system is incredible; with it, humans are able to create new life. You may know you were once in your mother’s pregnant body. Let’s see how you are “created” thanks to your parents.

You once started off as only a single cell. This cell was created by combining one cell from your mom and one cell from your dad. In turn, the cells from your mom and dad were developed from the reproductive systems in their bodies. You can call these sex cells.

Males and females have different reproductive systems. Both your mom and dad’s systems create sex cells. But, they have two different names. A female’s sex cells are called ova and a male’s sex cells are called sperm. In fact, a male and females reproductive systems have completely different organs.

These organs fully develop during puberty when you are about 9 to 15 years old. Is that near your age?
Let’s take a look at the main organs of each system.

Female Reproductive System

The Main Organs

Ovaries: There are two small ovaries on either side of a female’s body. They produce and store the female sex cells, called ova. Interestingly, all the ova for a female are created when she is born. At birth, she has about a million eggs in her ovaries.

Fallopian Tubes: About every month, the ova moves. It travels from the ovaries into the thin Fallopian tubes. Here, the male sex cells, which come from the male reproductive system, can meet the ova.

Uterus: The uterus looks like an upside-down pear, and this is where a mother carries her soon-to-be baby. If a male and female sex cells meet, the combined cell then moves to the uterus. There, the cell starts growing and become a baby.

Vagina: The vagina is a muscular tube, which is where babies pass through to be born. The vagina is strong; it has muscular walls that can stretch and widen. That way, an entire baby can pass through it! The vagina is a channel that leads from the internal reproductive system to the outside of the female’s body.

Starting at the ovaries, trace through the Fallopian tubes. From there, trace to the uterus, and finally through the vagina. The different stages of the developing baby pass through these organs in the female body.

Male Reproductive System

The Main Organs

Testicles: There are 2 testicles located outside the body. The testicles produce and store the male sex cells, called sperm. After puberty, males can produce millions of sperm cells every day. Sperm, with a head and a tail, they can swim.

Seminal Vesicles: The seminal vesicles produce a whitish fluid. This fluid mixes with the sperm, and it helps the sperm move.

Penis: The penis is where the sperm passes through to leave the male body. The penis is made of a spongy tissue. When the sperm passes through, the penis fills with blood and becomes hard. The sperm is mixed with the whitish fluid from the seminal vesicles. Over 500 million sperm can leave the male body at once.

 

Unlike other organ systems, a human doesn’t need their reproductive system to survive. But, it is necessary for humans to keep on living and create new life. People also can have different reproductive systems. They are not always like the male and female systems described above.