ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the main functions of the male reproductive organs, presents the reasons for male infertility and the various treatments. It examines the chemical nature and main actions of testosterone and its metabolite dihydrotestosterone. The chapter provides a brief account of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer and their respective treatments. It discusses the meanings of the terms gynaecomastia, sperm autoimmunity, impotence and priapism. The major androgenic steroid hormones cause development and maintenance of male sex organ function, notably: spermatogenesis, maintenance of the accessory sex organs, and male secondary characteristics. Male sexual organs of reproduction, consisting mainly of the seminiferous tubules, which respond to the anterior pituitary hormone follicle-stimulating hormone by producing spermatozoa, and Leydig cells, which respond to the anterior pituitary hormone luteinising hormone to produce male sex hormones, principally testosterone.
