Spermatozoa Development

Introduction

The male haploid reproductive cell, produced by meiosis in the testis (male gonad).

(More? Week 1 - Spermatogenesis)

--Mark Hill 19:34, 5 August 2009 (EST) Page under development - notice removed when completed.

Links: 2009 Lecture - Genital Development | original Genital Notes | original Urogenital Notes

Terms

asthenozoospermia

(asthenospermia) Term for reduced sperm motility and can be the cause of male infertility.

sperm annulus

(Jensen's ring; Latin, annulus = ring) A region of the mammalian sperm flagellum connecting the midpiece and the principal piece. The annulus is a septin-based structure formed from SEPT1, 4, 6, 7 and 12. Septins are polymerizing GTPases that can act as a scaffold forming hetero-oligomeric filaments required for cytokinesis and other cell cycle roles.

spermatogenesis

(Greek, genesis = origin, creation, generation) The term used to describe the process of diploid spermatagonia division and differentiation to form haploid spermatazoa within the testis (male gonad). The process includes the following cellular changes: meiosis, reoorganization of DNA, reduction in DNA content, reorganization of cellular organelles, morphological changes (cell shape). The final process of change in cell shape is also called spermiogenesis.

spermiogenesis

(Greek, genesis = origin, creation, generation) The maturation process of the already haploid spermatazoa into the mature sperm shape and organization. This process involves reorganization of cellular organelles (endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, mitochondria), cytoskeletal changes (microtubule organization) and morphological changes (cell shape, acrosome and tail formation).

spermatogonia

The cells located in the seminiferous tubule adjacent to the basal membrane that either divide and separate to renew the stem cell population, or they divide and stay together as a pair (Apr spermatogonia) connected by an intercellular cytoplasmic bridge to differentiate and eventually form spermatazoa.

Leydig cell

(interstitial cell) Male gonad (testis) cell which secrete the androgen testosterone, beginning in the fetus. These cells are named after Franz von Leydig (1821 - 1908) a German scientist who histologically described these cells.

Glossary Links

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 16) Embryology Spermatozoa Development. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Spermatozoa_Development

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