Animal Reproduction

1. What is asexual reproduction?  Describe some of the mechanisms of asexual reproduction.  Many animals reproduce both sexually and asexually.  What are the advantages of each?
2. Why is hermaphroditism more common in sessile organisms (remember...plants are sessile too)?
3. Compare simultaneous to sequential hermaphroditism?
4. Familiarize yourself with the general anatomy of the male and female mammalian reproductive systems and human sexual physiology.  (Please restrict your study of this material to what is IN THE TEXT!)
5. Compare and contrast oogenesis and spermatogenesis.
6. What is the function of testosterone in human male reproduction and sexual development?
7. What are the differences between estrous and menstrual cycles?
8. Describe the endocrine regulation of the menstrual cycle.  What hormones participate in this cycle and how do they regulate the formation and degradation of the endometrium?
9. Describe the endocrine regulation of the ovarian cycle.  What hormones participate in this cycle and how do they regulate the development of the follicle, corpus luteum, and ovulation?  How are the menstrual cycle and the ovarian cycle synchronized?  Your explanation should describe how the endocrine system synchronizes these cycles.
10. Describe how the endocrine system prevents the flow phase of the menstrual cycle during pregnancy?
11. What is "the birth control pill"?  How does it act to prevent pregnancy?
12. Describe the other forms of contraception besides the pill.  How do they act to prevent/ terminate pregnancy?  Which of these contraceptive methods is most reliable?  Which is least reliable?  Which of the methods act to terminate pregnancy after fertilization has taken place?