Testes
Read the following passage carefully and answer the given questions.
The male reproductive system includes a pair of testes along with accessory ducts, glands and the external genitalia. In adults, each testis is oval, and has about 250 compartments called testicular lobules. Each lobule contains one to three highly coiled seminiferous tubules in which sperm is produced. Each seminiferous tubule is lined on its inner side by two types of cells called male germ cells (spermatogonia) and Sertoli cells. The male germ cells undergo meiotic divisions, finally leading to sperm formation, while Sertoli cells provide nutrition. The regions outside the seminiferous tubules called interstitial spaces, contain small blood vessels and interstitial cells or Leydig cells. The male sex accessory ducts include rete testis, vasa efferentia, epididymis and vas deferens. The male accessory glands include seminal vesicles, prostate and bulbourethral glands. Secretions of these glands constitute the seminal plasma and the secretions of bulbourethral glands also helps in the lubrication of the penis.
The rete testis connects:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Seminiferous tubules to vasa efferentia
Sperms are made in the seminiferous tubules and leave the testis through the male sex accessory ducts. The path is: seminiferous tubules → rete testis → vasa efferentia → epididymis → vas deferens. The rete testis is the link between the seminiferous tubules and the vasa efferentia.
(1) Vasa efferentia to vas deferens — Incorrect. The vasa efferentia open into the epididymis, which then leads to the vas deferens.
(2) Seminiferous tubules to vasa efferentia — Correct. The tubules open into the vasa efferentia through the rete testis.
(3) Epididymis to vasa deferens — Incorrect. The epididymis leads to the vas deferens by itself. The rete testis is not in this link.
(4) Seminiferous tubules to epididymis — Incorrect. Sperms reach the epididymis only after they pass through the rete testis and the vasa efferentia.
Note: The passage is taken from NCERT. NTA has put lines of the NCERT text together to make it. Most CUET (UG) questions come straight from NCERT, so study the book line by line, including figures and their titles.
NCERT Extract:
The Male Reproductive System – “… The male sex accessory ducts include rete testis, vasa efferentia, epididymis and vas deferens (Figure 2.1b). The seminiferous tubules of the testis open into the vasa efferentia through rete testis. The vasa efferentia leave the testis and open into epididymis located along the posterior surface of each testis.”
