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Physiology of Gametogenesis

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Gamete and Embryo-fetal Origins of Adult Diseases

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Abstract

Gametogenesis is a biological process by which diploid or haploid precursor cells undergo cell division and differentiation to form mature haploid gametes. The biology of gamete production is different between males and females. In human, gametogenesis is the development of diploid germ cells into either haploid sperm (spermatogenesis) or eggs (oogenesis). Gamete production in females is intimately part of the endocrine responsibility of the ovary. If there are no gametes, then hormone production is drastically curtailed. Depletion of oocytes implies depletion of the major hormones of the ovary. In the male this is not the case. Androgen production will proceed normally without a single spermatozoon in the testes. This chapter reviews some of the basic structural morphology and physiology of the testes and the ovaries.

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  1. The Key Laboratory of Reproductive Genetics, Zhejiang University, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Hui Ye, Le-Jun Li, Yue-Zhou Chen, He-Feng Huang & Zhong-Yan Liang

  2. Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Hui Ye, Le-Jun Li, Yue-Zhou Chen, He-Feng Huang & Zhong-Yan Liang

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Ye, YH., Li, LJ., Chen, YZ., Huang, HF., Liang, ZY. (2014). Physiology of Gametogenesis. In: Huang, HF., Sheng, JZ. (eds) Gamete and Embryo-fetal Origins of Adult Diseases. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7772-9_1

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