What Are the Differences between the Male and Female Reproductive Systems?

Male and female reproductive systems have evolved for different specialties, but for the same goal: to produce children. All of a woman's reproductive system is inside of the body, whereas much of a man's is outside of the body. The functional difference between the two systems is that a woman's is designed to nurture a baby while it grows enough to survive in the world and a man's is a delivery system for sperm. The individual components of the systems also differ.

The reproductive system in women is entirely internal, with exit and entrance points at the vagina. One of the most noticeable differences between men and women is the male genitalia on the outside of the body. The lower temperatures of the outside environment help keep sperm healthy and prevent damage from the levels of heat found inside the body.

A woman has separate openings for urine and for menstruation and sexual intercourse, whereas the man only has one opening to let out urine and semen. Although the external portions of the vagina tend to become engorged with blood during sexual intercourse, a man's penis exhibits much more obvious enlargement. This allows him to use his penis for functional reasons and insert it into the vagina.

Both the male and female reproductive systems produce hormones, but the hormones differ. Women produce higher levels of female hormones like estrogen and men have more testosterone, for example. These hormones produce wide-ranging effects on the body, such as the development of secondary sexual characteristics like breasts or broad shoulders. Both reproductive systems start making an increasing number of hormones at puberty.

Women have eggs already stored in the ovaries at birth, and the eggs are released every month. Men, on the other hand, make new sperm regularly. The female reproductive system requires a monthly period to renew the lining of the womb, whereas the male system does not require regular maintenance in the same way.

Structurally, the female reproductive system is an area for holding and nurturing an unborn baby. In addition, it is a space where the woman's eggs can mix with the male sperm to produce a new human, which allows the woman to pass on some of her genes to the next generation, and the man to do the same. The male reproductive system does not contain any biological equipment that can support a new baby. Instead, it is a production and delivery system for sperm.