KEY POINTS

Functional Anatomy

1. The male reproductive system consists of many individual organs acting in concert to produce spermatozoa and deliver them to the female's reproductive tract.

2. Emission is the release of spermatozoa and accessory gland fluids into the pelvic urethra, whereas ejaculation is the forceful expulsion of semen from the urethra.

Spermatogenesis

1. Spermatogenesis is a lengthy orchestrated process in which diploid stem cells divide by mitosis to maintain their own numbers and cyclically produce progeny that undergo meiotic division and differentiation into haploid germ cells.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-TesticuIarAxis

1. The reproductive system of the male is regulated by the hypothalamus, which is hormonally linked to the anterior pituitary and testes by luteinizing hormone and follicle- stimulating hormone.

Puberty

1. Puberty is not synonymous with sexual maturity.

2. Puberty results from a continuous process of endocrine changes that are initiated shortly after birth.

Anabolic Steroids

1. Anabolic steroids are androgen derivatives that exert negative feedback on the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.