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Comparative Anatomy of the Urogenital System

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Vertebrate Reproduction

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Abstract

The gonads of all vertebrates have two functions. In the first place they produce the gametes (eggs and sperm) but they also function as glands for the production of hormones which have an important role in the regulation of reproduction. This last aspect will be dealt with in Chapter 5. The existence of separate sexes is the rule in vertebrates, as has already been mentioned. The gonads of the male are the testes, those of the female the ovaries. Basically they are paired structures, deviations from this rule always being secondary. The Acrania have segmentally arranged gonads all their life, as do the Elasmobranchii and Amphibia at the embryonic stage, but in these latter they rapidly become fused together into a single organ. All other vertebrates have gonads that arise as compact organs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arbeitsgruppe fü vergleichende Endokrinologie, Abteilung für Biologie Ruhr-Universität, Universitätsstr. 150 ND 5/29, 4630, Bochum 1, Germany

    Professor Dr. Volker Blüm

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  1. Professor Dr. Volker Blüm
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Blüm, V. (1986). Comparative Anatomy of the Urogenital System. In: Vertebrate Reproduction. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71074-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71074-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-16314-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-71074-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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