Reproductive Structures and Their Functions

Sexual reproduction requires more than just the gonads for success. Organs dedicated to reproduction evolved to ensure that conspecific sperm and eggs rendezvous, with roles that range from serving as a conduit for gamete release from the body to sustaining the health of gametes transferred from a mate to protecting offspring. Such reproductive structures include those tissues and organs whose primary functions are devoted almost entirely to sexual reproduction e.g. pistil, stamen, ovary, testis, reproductive tracts, external genitalia, and accessory tissues. Other organs, such as those of the central nervous system of animals, are essential orchestrators of reproduction (see Chapter 17 ).