Male Reproductive System: What you need to know.

The male reproductive system is designed to produce sperm and transport it out of the body. This is done through a series of tubed structures and glands:

• Testes in the Scrotum: The testes reside outside of the body inside a skin sac known as the scrotum. The testes consist of small coiled seminiferous tubules, which is where sperm production occurs.
  
  

• Epididymis: The epididymis is a tubed structure that attaches the seminiferous tubules to the vas deferens. Sperm from the testes are stored in the epididymis, which is also where their final stages of maturation occur.
  
  

• Vas Deferens: The vas deferens is a tubed structure that attaches the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct. During ejaculation, sperm is transported from the epididymis, through the vas deferens, and into the ejaculatory duct. 
  
  

• Seminal Vesicles: These glands produce seminal fluid (fluid that helps protect the sperm), which coats the sperm at the end of the vas deferens where it attaches to the ejaculatory duct. 
  
  

• Ejaculatory Duct and Prostate Gland: The ejaculatory duct now consists of sperm and seminal fluid, which travel through the ejaculatory duct, through the prostate gland, and into the urethra. The prostate gland coats the sperm in more seminal fluid to help nourish the sperm. The combination of sperm and these fluids constitutes semen.
  
  

• Urethra: Pathway for Expulsion: The urethra is responsible for expelling urine from the bladder and semen from the ejaculatory duct out of the body. The urethra runs through the penis and ends at the urethral opening at the tip of the penis.
  
  

• Bulbourethral Glands: Small bulbourethral glands empty their contents into the urethra to aid in its functions and protect it from infection.