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P A R T 7
Drugs acting on the reproductive system
■■
The human sexual response involves activation of the
sympathetic nervous system to allow a four-phase
response: stimulation, plateau, climax and resolution.
■■
Sexual stimulation and activity are a normal response
and, in healthy individuals, are probably necessary for
complete health of the body’s systems.
■■
Since activation of the sympathetic response is an
integral part of the human sexual response, any
disease process or drug therapy that interferes with
the sympathetic response will alter the person’s ability
to experience a sexual response.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
■■
Male and female reproductive systems arise from
the same fetal cells. The female ovaries store ova
and produce the sex hormones oestrogen and
progesterone; the male testes produce sperm and the
sex hormone testosterone.
■■
The hypothalamus releases GnRH at puberty to
stimulate the anterior pituitary release of FSH and
LH, thus stimulating the production and release of
the sex hormones. Levels are controlled by a series of
negative feedback systems.
■■
Female sex hormones are released in a cyclical
fashion. Release of an ovum for possible fertilisation
is termed ovulation. The female hormones prepare
the body for pregnancy, including maintenance of the
pregnancy if fertilisation occurs.
■■
If pregnancy does not occur, the prepared inner
lining of the uterus is sloughed off as menstruation
in the menstrual cycle, so that the lining can be
prepared again when ovulation reoccurs.
■■
Menopause in women and the male climacteric in
men occur when the body no longer produces sex
hormones; the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary
respond by releasing increasing levels of GnRH, FSH
and LH in an attempt to achieve higher levels of sex
hormones.
■■
The testes produce sperm in the seminiferous tubules
in response to FSH stimulation, and testosterone in
the interstitial cells in response to LH stimulation.
KEY POINTS
■■
Testosterone is responsible for the development of
male sex characteristics. These characteristics can be
maintained by the androgens from the adrenal gland
once the body has undergone the changes of puberty.
■■
The human sexual response involves activation of the
sympathetic nervous system to allow a four-phase
response: stimulation, plateau, climax and resolution.
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ONLINE RESOURCES
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