Sperm_and_the_Egg_Psy_265

Running Header: Journey into The Unknown Journey into The Unknown: Sperm and Egg Finally Meet PSY 265 Axia College Journey into The Unknown: Sperm and Egg Finally Meet I am so excited! Today is a very exciting day; it is finally my turn to embark upon one of the most fascinating parts of my life. It has been quite a journey am now I finally arrived here to the Infundibulum, which is the outer part of the female Fallopian tube. My scientific name is Ova, but you can call me Egg. I have been communicating with the germ cell name Sperm who lives within a human male. Sperm and I have been awaiting this journey for what seems like forever. If everything goes well we will finally get to meet! When we finally meet we will become a male or female embryo, which will mature into a baby. I am one of 2 million Ova that have lived inside this human. Sadly, many of my sisters died during what we called the great change, the scientific name is puberty. After the great change only about 400,000 of my sisters remains. Out of all my sisters and I who live within the follicle, which are thin capsules within the ovaries, only about 400 of us will reach fulfillment and become a ripened ova (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). After leaving my childhood home, the ovary, I made my way to my current location, the fallopian tube. The fallopian tube is where I will wait for my pen pal, Sperm, to arrive. Traveling down the fallopian tube took some time, and that is why ovulation takes place about two weeks before menstruation. The tube is only 4 inches long, but in order to be ready to meet Sperm I had to travel through various parts of the tube. Along the way I met a small group who referred to themselves as Cilia. These Cilia have tiny hair-like projections that helped push me along on my journey. With the help of cilia it is possible for me to move about an inch per day. I hope every day that Sperm and I will meet and that unlike so many of my sister before, I will not be flushed from my human with her monthly flow. I have been in the fallopian tube for just over a day, and I hope that my pen pal, Sperm, is making good time on his journey as well. If he is not here to meet me within two days of leaving my ovary I will not be able to become fertilized (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). I am quite nervous about how Sperm’s journey is going. He once wrote and told me all about his journey, and it seems just as difficult as mine! I just hope that my friend is strong and fast enough to out swim all his brothers! I know you have spoken to Egg; she is such a lovely girl. My name is Sperm, as I am sure she told you, and I have millions of brothers. Frankly it is a little too close in here for comfort that is what I am so excited that it is finally my turn to take the journey. I know many of us do not survive and sometimes it is a false journey, but I know Egg is waiting, and for her I must go on. My life started in a placed called the male testicle, which is where I went through a 72 day process of spermatogenesis. I had to go through this process to be able to meet Egg in the fallopian tube of the woman she resides in. I know that Egg only contain the female chromosome, X and I contain both a female and male chromosome, which is X and Y. When we meet, one of each of our sex chromosome will meet and I have the important job of determining whether we will become a male or female embryo during the process of fertilization because I alone carry the Y chromosome (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). After preparing myself for the journey, I start to make my way to the epididymis as I continued to mature. I have to wait another two to four weeks before I am mature enough to move to the Vans Deferens tube. My journey then continued into the seminal vesicle where I received nourishment from seminal fluid rich in fructose. This nourishment helps me move forward in my journey. I found that my movement is similar to swimming. I have a tail that I whip around to propel myself. Before I was able to propel myself I had help from contractions in the epididymis, Vans Deferens, and I even had help from a group of cilia, like Egg (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). While I continued my trip, other organs like the prostate and Cowper’s gland were busy making secretions, which will be combined with my brothers, seminal vesicle fluid, and myself to make something called semen. Once I become part of the ejaculate I am now ready to be expelled through the male’s penis during sexual intercourse. After I am expelled I can begin my journey to meet Egg in the fallopian tube (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). After ejaculation I must travel quickly. Millions of sperm will race through the cervical canal, onto the uterus, continuing their battle to be the first one to reach an ovum waiting in the fallopian tube. Only one will be the fastest and strongest to penetrate Egg’s hard outer lining, although many may actually find her. Once a sperm penetrates Egg’s lining they will undergo a chemical change that will enable them to become an embryo which will continue down the fallopian tube to be implanted into the uterus until birth (What to Expect, 2008). I see Egg in the horizon, I am tired and weary form my journey, but I must continue if I want to become one with Egg. I push on until I collide with her hard outer boundary. I start to dig into her, my brothers at my side doing the same. I break through the cursed barrier and enter Egg. The last thought within me as we start to bond is sweet victory. I am here, and we are one. Reference Rathus, S.P., Nevid, J.S., & Fichner-Rathus, L.F. (2005). Human sexuality in a world of diversity (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.. What to Expect. (2008). How fertilization happens. Retrieved March 18, 2010 from http://www.whattoexpect.com/preconception/fertility/how-fertilization-happens.aspx