Intromittent organ

Intromittent organ

An intromittent organ is a general term for an external organ of a male organism that is specialized to deliver sperm during copulation. Intromittent organs are usually found in terrestrial species, as most aquatic species fertilize their eggs externally, although there are exceptions.

pecies with intromittent organs

Fishes

In male members of Chondrichthyes (sharks and rays), as well as now-extinct placoderms, the pelvic fins bear specialized claspers. During copulation, one clasper is inserted into the female's cloaca, and sperm is flushed by the male's body through a groove into the female.

Members of Poeciliidae are small fishes that give birth to live young. In males, the anal fin is shaped into a grooved, rod-shaped organ called a gonopodium used to deliver sperm to females.

Tetrapods

In lizards and snakes, males possess paired hemipenes, each of which is usually grooved to allow sperm transport and spiny or rough at the tip to allow firm attachment to the female. To become erect, a hemipenis is evaginated (turned inside out) through muscle action and engorgement with blood. Only one is inserted into the female's cloaca at a time.

In some turtles, crocodiles, some birds, and mammals, males possess a penis centered along the midline of the body. During copulation it becomes erect due to engorgement with blood or lymph. When not in use, it is usually flaccid, and depending on the species, may be retracted into the body. The anatomy of the penis varies according to species.

Male ostriches have a conical shaped penis that is wider at the base. Male ducks have a penis that is coiled along the ventral wall of the cloaca when flaccid and which may have an elaborate spiral shape when erect.

All male mammals have a penis. Insectivores, bats, rodents, carnivorans, and most primates (but not humans) have a bone called the baculum or "os penis" that permanently stiffens the penis. During copulation, blood engorges the already-stiff penis resulting in a full erection.

References

*cite book |title= Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution |pages= 567-570 |last= Kardong |first= Kenneth V. |publisher= Wm. C. Brown Publishers |location = Dubuque, Iowa |year= 1995 |id= ISBN 0069219917


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  • intromittent organ — [ˌɪntrə(ʊ) mɪt(ə)nt] noun Zoology the male copulatory organ of an animal, especially a hermaphrodite. Origin C19: from L. intromittent , intromittere introduce , from intro to the inside + mittere send …   English new terms dictionary

  • intromittent organ — A male organ for transfer of seminal fluid into the female …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • intromittent organ — noun a male copulatory organ …   Wiktionary

  • intromittent organ — any male copulatory organ (one used to transfer sperm to the female reproductive tract), such as the human penis or the claspers seen especially in male insects and cartilaginous fishes …   Medical dictionary

  • intromittent organ — (Subclass Cirripedia): Penis [Stachowitsch, 1992] …   Crustacea glossary

  • intromittent organ — …   Useful english dictionary

  • intromittent — mitənt adjective Etymology: Latin intromittent , intromittens, present participle of intromittere to send in, let in : adapted for or functioning in intromission used of the copulatory organ of an animal …   Useful english dictionary

  • intromittent — Conveying or sending into a body or cavity. * * * in·tro·mit·tent mit ənt adj adapted for or functioning in intromission used esp. of the copulatory organ of an animal …   Medical dictionary

  • organ — Any part of the body exercising a specific function, as of respiration, secretion, or digestion. SYN: organum [TA], organon. [L. organum, fr. G. organon, a tool, instrument] accessory organs 1. SYN …   Medical dictionary

  • Sex organ — Flowers are the sex organs of flowering plants. A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a… …   Wikipedia

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