Lesson 2.3.1S1

Lesson 1—The Human Male Reproductive System

 

Get Focused

Choices you make in your life are not always yours alone. When you were a young child, your parents and loved ones made many important choices for you. One of the choices they made was to decide whether or not you should be immunized against certain diseases.

 

You may remember the concept of antibody-mediated immunity from an earlier biology course. The body forms antibodies (proteins) to recognize, neutralize, and destroy foreign substances. In childhood immunization programs, children are given vaccines designed to stimulate the body’s defense mechanism into fighting off certain contagious diseases. If allowed to develop, some of these contagious diseases can have severe consequences to reproductive health. Do you know what immunizations you received as a child?


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Nineteen-year-old Tim’s parents decided not to immunize him with the MMR (Mumps, Measles, and Rubella) vaccine when he was a child. He developed a severe case of mumps. The mumps led to orchitis—very painful swelling of the testicles.Orchitis affects one in five adult men and its symptoms can lead to infertility. This could be devastating to Tim later in life. Orchitis could cause so much damage to his reproductive structures and their normal functions that Tim may not be able to father children. You can learn more about Tim’s condition using the term “orchitis” in an Internet search.

 

Infertility is on the rise in North America. If infertility rises significantly at a global level, the continuity of the human species could be affected. Some couples are infertile because of structural or functional issues with one partner’s reproductive system.

 

In Lesson 1 you will investigate the male reproductive system and many issues that affect male fertility. You will investigate the following focusing questions:

  • What are the main structures and functions of the male reproductive system?
  • How do these structures support continuity of the human species?
  • What is the functional unit of the male reproductive system?

 

Module 3: Section 1 —Lesson 1 Assignment

Once you have completed all of the learning activities for this lesson, you can complete the online assignment.

Bio30 2.3.1S1 online assignment

Here is a tutorial video for this lesson that you can watch if it suits your learning style.  

** The Self-Check and Try This questions in this lesson are not marked by the teacher; however answering these questions will help you review important information and build key concepts that may be applied in future lessons. You can respond to these mentally, write out your response, or record your answer in any other way that works for you. **