Video Transcript
How does semen and urine exit the
body? (A) Through the ureter. (B) Through the urethra. (C) Through the vas deferens. (D) Through the seminiferous
tubule. Or (E) through the bladder.
This question asks about the
anatomy of the reproductive and urinary tracts in biological males, so let’s briefly
review some of the structures involved here, starting with the reproductive
system.
In this diagram showing a side view
of some of the key structures in a biological male’s reproductive system, we have
outlined the exit path for the sperm cells that eventually exit the body as a part
of semen in pink. You might have learned that sperm
cells are produced in organs called the testes. In fact, the specific site of sperm
production within each testis are long coiled tubes called the seminiferous
tubules. The mature sperm cells travel from
the seminiferous tubules to a region called the epididymis for their final
development and storage. These sperm cells may eventually
leave the body through a process called ejaculation.
When ejaculation is anticipated,
for example, during sexual arousal, the sperm cells travel from the epididymis into
a tube, or duct, called the vas deferens. The vas deferens leads the sperm
cells into another duct called the urethra. During its passage through the male
reproductive system, several fluids are added to the sperm cells by various glands
to make up a fluid called semen. From the urethra, the semen, which
contains the sperm cells, can be released from the male body by ejaculation via the
penis.
Using the information we have
learned so far, we can eliminate answer options (C), through the vas deferens, and
(D), through the seminiferous tubule, as semen has not been fully formed until the
sperm cells enter the urethra. And these organs also do not play a
role in the removal of urine.
Let’s remove some of these labels
so we have more space to take a look at how urine exits the body of a biological
male. To do this, we have added a few
important organs to this diagram and outlined the exit path for urine in blue. Urine is first produced in the
kidneys, which have been shown in this front view of the urinary system in males on
the right side of the screen. Urine is initially transported from
the kidneys to the bladder via two tubes called the ureters. Note that while this sounds similar
to urethra, it has an entirely different function as the ureter is not involved in
the transport of semen at all, only urine.
With this information, we can
eliminate option (A), through the ureter, as this is the tube that transports urine
from the kidneys to the bladder, not out of the body. It also does not transport
semen.
Urine is stored in the bladder
until urination, when urine will travel via the urethra, through the penis, and out
of the male’s body. It’s interesting to note that
biological females also have a urethra through which urine exits their body, except
it does not travel through a penis. Therefore, the answer cannot be
(E), through the bladder, as this organ is responsible for storing urine, not
transporting it out of the body. Instead, the sperm cells and urine
exit the body of a biological male through the same structure, the urethra,
suggesting that this is the correct answer to this question. The way that semen and urine exit
the body of a biological male is (B) through the urethra.
