Seminiferous tubule | anatomy | Britannica (original) (raw)

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reproductive function

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  In animal reproductive system: Testes
  …testes are composed largely of seminiferous tubules—coiled tubes, the walls of which contain cells that produce sperm—and are surrounded by a capsule, the tunica albuginea. Seminiferous tubules may constitute up to 90 percent of the testis. The tubule walls consist of a multilayered germinal epithelium containing spermatogenic cells and Sertoli…
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  In human reproductive system: The testes
  …contains one or more convoluted tubules, or narrow tubes, where sperm are formed. The tubules, if straightened, would extend about 70 cm (about 28 inches). The multistage process of sperm formation, which takes about 60 days, goes on in the lining of the tubules, starting with the spermatogonia, or primitive…
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spermatogenesis

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  In sperm
  …within the walls of the seminiferous tubules (the site of spermatogenesis). Dysfunction of Katnal1 is suspected to underlie some instances of male infertility, and thus, the gene represents a potential target for the development of male infertility drugs as well as new forms of male contraception.
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  In spermatogenesis
  …coiled tubules known as the seminiferous tubules; the sperm cells are produced within the walls of the tubules. Within the walls of the tubules, also, are many randomly scattered cells, called Sertoli cells, that function to support and nourish the immature sperm cells by giving them nutrients and blood products.…
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testis

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  In testis: Anatomy of the testes
  …to 10 coiled tubules, called seminiferous tubules, which produce the sperm cells. The partitions between the lobes and the seminiferous tubules both converge in one area near the anal side of each testis to form what is called the mediastinum testis.
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