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From the time we are teenagers through mid-life or longer, we are capable of sexually reproducing. Sex
plays a major role in much of our culture -- we see it in our fashion,
literature, music, television andmovies.
From a biological standpoint, the goal of sex is to merge two sets ofgenetic information, one from
the father and one from the mother, to make a baby that is genetically different from either parent.
In this article, we will explore the biology of sex -- otherwise known as human sexual reproduction. We will
examine the body's sexual organs, the biological cycles of sex, and the process of fertilization.
Fertilization
The primary goal of sex is to merge the sperm and egg (fertilization) to make a baby. In many
organisms, sex occurs outside of the body. For example, in most fish or amphibians, females lay eggs
somewhere (usually on the sea/river bed), the male comes along and sprays the eggs with sperm
andfertilization takes place.
In reptiles and mammals (including humans), fertilization takes place inside the body of the female
(internal fertilization). This technique increases the chances of successful sexual reproduction. Because
we use internal fertilization, our sexual organs are specialized for this purpose. Let's take a closer look at
the sexual organs in males and females.
One last male organ is a tiny, pea-sized set of glands inside the body at the base of the penis, called
thebulbourethral or Cowper's glands. During sexual excitation, and just prior to the ejection of sperm
(ejaculation), the Cowper's glands secrete a tiny amount of fluid that neutralizes any traces of acidic
urine that may be leftover in the urethra. It is also believed that these secretions are designed to lubricate
the penis and female tract during sexual intercourse.
Each cell in your body contains a set of chromosomes from your mother (her egg) and your father (his
sperm). When you look at human chromosomes, they are X-shaped, except for the male Y chromosome.
When your body produces sex cells (sperm or egg, depending on whether you are a male or female),
your body must reduce the number of chromosomes by half to go into the sex cells. To do this, it
randomly sorts chromosomes from both sets in one cell division and then reduces them by half in
another. Therefore, each sperm or egg that your body produces is unique and different -- it contains a
different mix of your mother's and father's genes. This is why two brothers in the same family can look
and act totally different from one another even though they come from the same parents -- it all depends
on which genes (chromosomes) were randomly chosen when producing the sex cells of the mother and
father.
Reproductive Cycles
Remember that, biologically, the main goal of sexual reproduction is to have the sperm combine with the
egg to make a baby. With respect to the man, age is not critical. Men are capable of producing sperm that
can fertilize an egg at any time from the onset of puberty until they die (there have been many cases in
which men in their 70s and 80s have conceived children with younger women). In contrast, women
typically can release fertilizable eggs from the time of puberty until their late 40s or early 50s. After that
time, their ovaries stop releasing eggs and they undergo various biochemical and physiological changes,
the sum of which is called menopause.
Although women are capable of conceiving a child from puberty to menopause, the timing of sexual
intercourse is critical to the success of sexual reproduction. Women have an ovulatory cycle,
ormenstrual cycle, made up of complex physiological and biochemical changes that are linked to the
timing of reproduction.
In the first phase of the menstrual cycle, a follicle (the cell complex that surrounds and nurtures the egg)
grows in the ovary, while the lining of the uterus builds up to receive a fertilized egg. At mid-cycle, when
the egg is ready, the ovary releases the egg. This stage is called ovulation, and is the optimum time for
fertilization to take place. The egg enters the Fallopian tube on its way to the uterus. In the last phase of
the menstrual cycle, one of two things happens: If the egg is fertilized, it continues on to the uterus,
attaches to the lining and pregnancy begins; if the egg is not fertilized, the uterus sheds its lining (and the
now-dead egg), menses begins and another menstrual cycle ensues.
Intercourse
When a man and a woman engage in sexual activity, each goes through an arousal phase. In both the
man and the woman, nerve impulses from the brain cause their heart rates to increase
and dilateperipheral blood vessels. They feel warm, and they begin to sweat. The Cowper's glands in the
man and the vestibular glands in the woman secrete fluid that lubricates the man's urethra and the
woman's labial area and vagina.
The man's brain sends nerve impulses to the blood vessels in his penis and tells the arterioles to dilate
and the venules to constrict. The blood flow engorges the spongy tissue of his penis, causing it to
become erect. As the couple engages in intercourse, the man inserts his erect penis into the
woman'svagina. As intercourse continues, the man reaches a point at which muscle contractions in the
epididymis, prostate and seminal vesicles propel semen from the penis into the woman's vagina
(ejaculation) at the base of the uterine cervix. Muscle contractions in the woman's body periodically dip
her cervix into the semen.
Once the semen is deposited at the base of the uterus, the sperm begin a long journey to fertilization.
The fertilized egg is now called a zygote. The depolarization caused by sperm penetration results in one
last round of division in the egg's nucleus, forming a pronucleus containing only one set of genetic
information. The pronucleus from the egg merges with the nucleus from the sperm. Once the two
pronuclei merge, cell division begins immediately.
The dividing zygote gets pushed along the Fallopian tube. By approximately four days after fertilization,
the zygote has about 100 cells and is called a blastocyst. When the blastocyst reaches the uterine lining,
it floats for about two days, finally implanting in the uterine wall by the sixth day after fertilization. Once
implanted, the blastocyst secretes hCG, which rescues the corpus luteum and signals that a successful
pregnancy has begun.
The implanted blastocyst continues developing in the uterus for nine months. As the baby grows, the
uterus stretches until it is about the size of a basketball.
Twins
Sometimes, two dominant follicles develop eggs and ovulate. If both are fertilized and subsequently
implanted in the uterus, two embryos develop: twins. Because they developed from separate eggs that
were fertilized by different sperm, they are called fraternal twins. Fraternal twins do not share any more
genetic information than siblings born separately.
In addition, the two daughter cells that remain after a fertilized egg undergoes its first division may
separate and divide independently of each other. When this happens, they remain loosely connected
while in the Fallopian tube, and the two blastocysts implant together in the uterine wall. They develop into
two separate embryos. Because these embryos came from the same fertilized egg, they share identical
genetic material and are called identical twins.