Gonads and Placenta (Nursing)

00:00 Another organ that has endocrine function are our gonads. The gonads, which are the testes in males and the ovaries in females, produce the same steroid sex hormones as those of the adrenal cortex. The ovaries in the females are going to produce estrogen and progesterone.

00:24 Estrogen is going to be responsible for the maturation of our reproductive organs. The appearance of secondary sexual characteristics and with progesterone it is also going to cause breast development and the cyclic changes in the uterine mucosa that we refer to as the menstrual cycle. The testis, which is the gonads in males, is going to produce testosterone.

00:52 This is going to initiate the maturation of our male reproductive organs and cause the appearance of male secondary sexual characteristics as well as contribute to the male sex drive. It's necessary for the normal production of sperm and maintains the reproductive organs in a functional state. Another structure is the placenta, which is found during pregnancy. The placenta is going to be responsible for the secretion of estrogens, progesterone, and a human chorionic gonadotropin which is what is tested for in a pregnancy test since it is only present during pregnancy.