Mesonephric tubules are genital ridges that are next to the

mesonephros The mesonephros ( el, middle kidney) is one of three excretory organs that develop in vertebrates. It serves as the main excretory organ of aquatic vertebrates and as a temporary kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals. The mesonephros is included ...

. In males, some of the mesonephric kidney tubules, instead of being used to filter blood like the rest, "grow" over to the developing

testes A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

, penetrate them, and become connected to the

seminiferous tubules Seminiferous tubules are located within the testes, and are the specific location of meiosis, and the subsequent creation of male gametes, namely spermatozoa. Structure The epithelium of the tubule consists of a type of sustentacular cells know ...

of the testes. They also form the

epididymis The epididymis (; plural: epididymides or ) is a tube that connects a testicle to a vas deferens in the male reproductive system. It is a single, narrow, tightly-coiled tube in adult humans, in length. It serves as an interconnection between t ...

and the

paradidymis The term paradidymis (organ of Giraldés) is applied to a small collection of convoluted tubules, situated in front of the lower part of the spermatic cord, above the head of the epididymis. These tubes are lined with columnar ciliated epitheliu ...

. The sperm differentiate inside the seminiferous tubules, then swim down these tubes, then through these special mesonephric tubules, and go down inside

Wolffian duct The mesonephric duct (also known as the Wolffian duct, archinephric duct, Leydig's duct or nephric duct) is a paired organ that forms during the embryonic development of humans and other mammals and gives rise to male reproductive organs. Struc ...

, to the

coelom The coelom (or celom) is the main body cavity in most animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium. In other animals, such as molluscs, it ...

and finally to the organ the animal uses to transport sperm into females. In females, it gives rise to the

epoophoron The epoophoron or epoöphoron (also called organ of RosenmüllerJ. C. Rosenmüller. De ovariis embryonum et foetuum humanorum. 1802. or the parovarium) is a remnant of the mesonephric tubules that can be found next to the ovary and fallopian tube ...

and the

paroöphoron The paroophoron (of Johnson) consists of a few scattered rudimentary tubules, best seen in the child, situated in the broad ligament between the epoöphoron and the uterus. Named for the Welsh anatomist David Johnson who originally described the s ...

References

External links

* * http://www.uoguelph.ca/zoology/devobio/210labs/kidney2.html Embryology of urogenital system {{Developmental-biology-stub