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How Babies are Made - The Basics

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You are here : home > Preconception > How Babies are Made - The Basics > The Role of Testosterone

The Role of Testosterone

The Reproductive System of a woman
The Menstrual Cycle
The Hormones
The Reproductive System of a Man
The Role of Testosterone
The Sperm's Odyssey in the Female Reproductive Tract
The Process of Fertilisation

The Role of Testosterone

As already mentioned, the main male sex hormone is testosterone and this is made by the testicles, starting at puberty. Testosterone is produced by specialised cells in the testis called the Leydig cells. These are stimulated to release testosterone in response to the LH signal from the pituitary. LH is luteinising hormone - the same hormone found in women.

Note that there are two separate compartments in the testis - and that the Leydig cells are outside the spermatogenic tubules where the sperms are manufactured. This explains why there is no relation between virility (which depends upon testosterone production) and fertility (which depends upon sperm production).

Testosterone does more than just allow men to make sperm. It also triggers the growth of facial hair, the deepening of men's voices, and the development of a male physique - all the changes which make boys into men. Testosterone is also important in creating desire for sex - it increases libido.

In addition to the need for testosterone, the production and maturation of sperm in the seminiferous tubules of the testis is stimulated by FSH produced by the pituitary gland - and this FSH is identical to that found in women.