Gynecology Sexual anatomy

Sex organ Wikipedia

A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, narrowly defined, is any of those parts of the body (which are not always bodily organ (anatomy)|organs according to the strict definition) which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; namely:

• Male: penis (notably the glans penis and foreskin), testicles, scrotum, prostate, seminal vesicles, epididymis, Cowper's glands

• Female: vulva (notably the clitoris and labia), vagina, cervix, uterus, Fallopian tubes, ovary|ovaries, Skene's glands, Bartholin's glands.

More generally and popularly, the term sex organ refers to any part of the body involved in erotic pleasure. The larger list would certainly include the anus for either sex, the prepuce, the breasts (especially the nipples) for females, and the nipples for males.

The Latin term genitalia is used to describe the sex organs, and in the English language this term and genital area are most often used to describe the externally visible sex organs or external genitalia: in males the penis and scrotum, in females the vulva. The other parts of the sex organs are called the internal genitalia.

A gonad is a sex organ that produces gametes, specifically the testis|testes or ovary|ovaries in humans.

Organs of sexual anatomy originate from a common anlage and differentiate into male or female sex organs. The SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome and encoding the testis determining factor, decides the direction of this differentiation. Each sexual organ in one sex has a homologous counterpart in the other one. See a list of homologues of the human reproductive system.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19