Essay: Anatomy Of Female And Male Reproductive Organs." (59 Characters)

Female Reproductive Organ

The Male Reproductive System

Female Reproduction Organ

Task 1 (AC 1.1)

Task 1 (AC 1.2)

Task 2. Flow Chart and Written Summary

B) Changes that Occur in the Sperm and Ovum During Fertilization

Sperms undergo certain changes during fertilization. Once the sperm comes into contact with the egg, it undergoes certain structural changes, its acrosome, which is the part at the tip of the sperm, undergoes most of these changes. A structure called acrosome vesicle, found within the acrosome and is prominent at the anterior tip of the sperm, bursts. The plasma membrane that surrounds the sperm bursts and if fuses at the tip of the acrosome vesicle, forming an opening. The acrosome granule which is found within the acrosome vesicle disappears in the process of formation of the opening (Lawrence et al., 1997). Its dissolution releases lysin, a substance that breaks down the vitelline coat of the egg to allow the passage of the sperm into the egg. The acrosome membrane that is close to the opening forms a shallow out pocketing by sticking to the sperm’s nuclear envelope.  It then elongates into a thin tube rapidly which fuses with egg plasms membrane after its extension (Okabe, 2018). The mid peace and part of the tail are other parts of the sperm that move into the egg together with the acrosome membrane and the plasma membrane only that the two do not reach the inside parts of the egg. As the sperm gets withdrawn in the egg, its membrane gets broken down.

The ovum as well undergoes a variety of changes which begin by change in its membrane so that it does not allow the attachment and penetration of more than one sperm (Deneke & Pauli, 2021). Egg activation is the most essential process during fertilization which is a process whereby the egg undergoes cell division but the process does not require the sperm’s intervention. Capacitation is the final change that the sperm undergoes after its entry into the egg membrane which occurs before they take part in the final fertilization process.

The interface found between the fetus and the mother is what is known as the mother, It has four main functions which include the gas exchange process between the mother and the fetus, it protects the fetus and enhances metabolism.

The placenta is entirely responsible for gas exchange between the fetus and the mother as the fetus is yet to develop mature lugs for the process. Oxygen crosses into the placenta by the process known as diffusion and the transfer depends on the oxygen pressure levels the fetus and mothers blood within the intervillous space of the mother’s blood and the umbilical arteries in the fetal blood. The successful transfer of oxygen to the fetus is through the Bohr effect. The maternal blood, at a stage known as the maternal-fetal interface, absorbs carbon dioxide and becomes more acidic while during the same procedure, carbon dioxide is released from the fetal blood which becomes more alkaline (Donnelly & Campling, 2019). The process results into a shift in the fetal curve towards the left in a process known as the Double Bohr Effect. Oxygen transfer from the mother’s blood into the fetus is enabled by the availability of the fetal hemoglobin that shifts the fetal oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve to the further left.

Task 1 (AC 1.1)

Carbon dioxide transfer between the fetus and the mother occurs through passive diffusion as the process it uses to cross the placenta and the entire involved process on the partial gradient pressure between fetal blood within the umbilical arteries and the maternal blood within the intervillous space. The Haldane effects facilitates carbon dioxide movement to the mother from the fetus blood. The Haldane effect refers to the increased ability of the blood to transport carbon dioxide blood than its capability to carry blood that is composed of oxygen. Maternal blood is able to carry more carbon dioxide in the form of bicarbonate or carbominohaemoglobin as it releases oxygen. On the other hand, the fetal blood reduces its affinity for carbon dioxide as it absorbs oxygen from the maternal blood, hence it releases carbon dioxide to the mother. The combination of the mentioned blood is what is referred to as Double Haldane effect.

Another function of the placenta is the transfer of metabolism. The fetus does not have adequate capacity for gluconeogenesis hence its main source of energy originates from maternal glucose. Glucose passes across the planta through passive diffusion but the transferred glucose is inadequate to cater for the fetus energy needs hence there is a requirement to facilitate diffusion by the use of different forms if glucose transporters.

When it comes to amino acid transfer essential for fetal protein synthesis, it is transferred by active transport from the mother to the fetus. However, there are a variety of transporter proteins that are specific for cationic, anionic and neutral amino acids. Most of the mentioned proteins transport amino acids alongside sodium whose transfer down the gradient drags along the amino acids (Duttaroy & Basak, 2020).

The transportation if fatty acids through the placenta is an essential process for the synthesis of compounds which are involved in cell signaling. They as well play an essential role in the process of fetal phospholipid production, myelin and the production of biological membranes. The maternal surface of the placenta has lipoproteins, which refers to the enzyme that cleaves lipoproteins into the free fatty acids which are transported from the mother fetus by diffusion together with glycerol. The two are then moved from the mother to the unborn baby by simple diffusion as well as using of binding proteins that are fatty acids.

Vitamins, water plus Electrolytes are enable to pass through the placenta in the process of passive diffusion and active transport as well plays an essential role in the transportation process. Vitamins, calcium and calcium irons as well get transported across the placenta membrane by active carrier-mediated transport. Water is transferred by simple diffusion depending on osmotic and hydrostatic pressure gradient.

Male Reproductive System

Being an organ of the endocrine, the placenta transfers a variety of essential steroid and peptide hormones.  Human chorionic gonadotropin refers to a glycoprotein that gets produced in pregnancy early phases and the peak of its production is when the woman is 8 weeks pregnant. The hormone stimulates the growth of corpus luteum so as to enhance progesterone secretion that is essential in maintaining the pregnancy’s viability.

Human placental lactogen as well gets produced by syncytiotrophoblast and it reduces the sensitivity of maternal insulin resulting in increased levels of maternal blood glucose levels. It as well stimulates the adrenocorticotropic hormone synthesis and fetal pulmonary surfactant synthesis as well as helping in the promotion of maternal breast development to get ready for milk production. It changes the mother’s position from being a principle user of carbohydrate to a principle user of fatty acids hence saving up glucose to be used by the fetus (Tang et al., 2020).

The placenta produces human growth hormone variant through the effects of its growth and by the syncytiotrophoblast. Moreover, it stimulates the lipolysis and maternal gluconeogenesis in order to optimize nutrient availability for the growing fetus. After eight weeks of gestation, progesterone in gets produced by the corpus luteum. The placenta then slowly takes over the production role after eight weeks and boosts the production of progesterone until the moment when the mother gets into labor. Progesterone is an essential hormone in pregnancy as it prevents uterine contractions and the early onset of labor. It as well takes part in the stimulation of uterine wall’s growth and in the development of the mammary glands.

The placenta conducts immunological functions. During the pregnancy period, maternal IgG can cross over from to the fetus from the mother as a way of providing it with the required immunity during the early pregnancy stages. The syncytiotrophoblast has receptors for Fc fragments of IgG and the bond gets endocytosis in a vesicle just before it gets released inti the fetal blood by exocytosis and the transfer begins at early stages if gestation and increases gradually during the third trimester. It is essential to note that a certain type of antibodies which contributes to the cause of maternal autoimmune disorders can as well cross over the placenta and impact the fetus in an adverse way (Gingrich et al., 2020).

Placentas transports blood from the mother to the fetus and this can help to treat certain conditions in the fetus by administering the drug to the mother. For instance, a pregnant mother can be given asteroids to help in the maturation of the fetus lungs and cardiac drugs administered to the mother can help in controlling fetal arrhythmias. However, the transfer of drugs through the placenta can as well have adverse impacts on the fetus especially during organogenesis in the first trimester of pregnancy (Schuler et al., 2018).

References

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Deneke, V. E., & Pauli, A. (2021). The Fertilization Enigma: How Sperm and Egg Fuse. Annual review of cell and developmental biology, 37, 391-414.

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Donnelly, L., & Campling, G. (2019). Functions of the placenta. Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, 20(7), 392-396.

Duttaroy, A. K., & Basak, S. (2020). Maternal dietary fatty acids and their roles in human placental development. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 155, 102080.

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Gingrich, J., Ticiani, E., & Veiga-Lopez, A. (2020). Placenta disrupted: endocrine disrupting chemicals and pregnancy. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 31(7), 508-524.

Jones, N., & Jones, R. C. (1982). The structure of the male genital system of the Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portujacksoni, with particular reference to the genital ducts. Australian Journal of Zoology, 30(4), 523-541.

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Okabe, M. (2018). Sperm–egg interaction and fertilization: past, present, and future. Biology of Reproduction, 99(1), 134-146.

Schlafer, D. H., & Foster, R. A. (2016). Female genital system. Jubb, Kennedy & Palmer's Pathology of Domestic Animals: Volume 3, 358.

Schuler, G., Fürbass, R., & Klisch, K. (2018). Placental contribution to the endocrinology of gestation and parturition. Animal Reproduction, 15(Suppl 1), 822-842.

Gingrich Gingrich Tang, Z. R., Xu, X. L., Deng, S. L., Lian, Z. X., & Yu, K. (2020). Oestrogenic endocrine disruptors in the placenta and the fetus. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(4), 1519.