Male Infertility A child of my own - Andrology Australia

The levels of FSH and LH in the blood riseduring the early stages of puberty, and under theirinfluence, the testes grow and mature. With thehelp of LH, the Leydig cells in the testis makethe male sex hormone, testosterone. Testosteroneis responsible for many of the physical changesin young boys at puberty including developmentof the genitals, facial and body hair and othercharacteristics of the adult male.Together with testosterone, FSH from thepituitary gland acts on the seminiferous tubules inthe testes to stimulate the production of sperm.How are sperm ejaculated?At the start of ejaculation, waves of musclecontractions transport the sperm, with a smallamount of fluid, from the epididymis throughto the vas deferens.At the back of the bladder, the vas deferensbecomes the ejaculatory ducts, which pass throughthe prostate gland to join the urinary tract, byentering the prostatic urethra (the section ofthe urethra that is located in the centre of theprostate). The prostate gland produces fluid thatmixes with the sperm in the prostatic urethra.Extra fluid from the seminal vesicles enters theurethra via the ejaculatory duct. The passage offluid along the urethra is further helped by thelubricating fluid made by the Cowper’s glands.MALE INFERTILITY 9