The Sperm and the Egg
Ellen Collins
PSY/ 265 Psychology of Human Sexuality
4/26/2015
Lauren Klatzker
The Sperm and the Egg
The life of a sperm and the life of an egg from start to finish.
When my son ask were baby’s came from I told him that daddy planted a seed in mommy’s stomach, like a flower and the bees. It is very hard to explain to a child of 8 how it works so most parents find a story for the child. The actual scientific process is harder to explain to a child because they are not ready for the sex talk it will be useful when they get a little older. However a girl needs to know when she is starting to menstruate. If we don’t teach girls about her body and why she is menstruating she can end up pregnant at an early age. We will start to clarifying the male and female body parts that are involved; the penis and vagina. The internal part of the vagina consists of the cervix, the uterus, and two ovaries, that are all attached to the uterus by a fallopian tube. These are all organizations that make up the women’s reproductive system.” The female is born with all the ova she will ever have”. This adds up to about 2 million, lot of the ova being undeveloped in form, only about 400,000 actually make it into puberty. During a woman’s reproductive years, from puberty to menopause, only 400 or so mature to ova, naturally 1 per month; will be released by their follicles for possible fertilization”. Women produces so little eggs it is still a secret how an egg chooses to be fertilized. “The egg starts out in the women’s ovaries. The ovaries are also responsible for the production of estrogen and progestogen. Eggs are fertilized in the fallopian tubes, and since sperm can live up to five days in a woman’s uterus, it could be why women can get pregnant over several days each month based on when she ovulates. An egg is more time-sensitive the egg is only fertile for 12 to 24 hours after it leaves the ovary”. With males, the sexual reproduction system is mostly external, and includes; the penis and the scrotum. The penis has three cylinders of spongy material that run the length of the penis. During sexual arousal, these cylinders are filled with blood and cause an erection. When an orgasm has been reached, the penis secrets semen through a urethral opening, also called the urethral meatus. The internal sex organs of a male include; the testes, which are inside of the scrotum. The scrotum is a pouch of loose skin that becomes covered lightly with hair at puberty. It has two compartments that hold the testes. Both testicles are held in place by their own spermatic cord, which is the structure that contains the muscle, nerves and blood vessels, and the vas deferens. The testes are responsible for creating sperm (germ cells), and sex hormones. The production of a mature sperm takes two months and it takes place starting out in the seminiferous tubules (testes). Once the sperm is matured enough, it moves to the epididymis waiting for the release that moves them through the urethra. While moving through the urethra, the sperm is combined with a substance that helps the sperm and their long journey to the egg. In Contrast to the women who are born with all the eggs she will ever produce, the male’s sperm count seems endless. It is said that a man can produce enough sperm in 10 to 20 ejaculations to populate the World. Women cannot conceive a baby without engaging in coitus first. Once the penis is inserted into the vagina, intercourse occurs. The introitus known as the vaginal opening is the only visible part of the vagina, during coitus the penis stays inside the vagina cavity. It continues until sperm is secreted. Once sperm is released into the vaginal cavity, the sperm sure have a long road ahead of them, and most never make it. They start to impel themselves by whipping their tales starting before they are ejaculated from