20313 Mammalian Reproduction

Credits: 4 advanced credits in Life Sciences

Prerequisites: General Biology I, General Biology II, Cell Structure and Function (single-semester format or year-long format). Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.

Recommended: Vertebrates

The course, based on 12 chapters (in English) from Essential Reproduction (6th ed.), by M. H. Johnson (Blackwell Publishing, 2007), was developed by Sarah Weissenberg and Joel Klemes.

The course acquaints students with the organs, hormones and complex physiological processes involved in mammalian reproduction and with the varied methods used in their study. After taking the course, students will understand the expected contribution of these studies to increasing the fertility of domesticated mammals and to the development of safe and acceptable methods for regulating reproduction in humans.

Topics: Introduction – reproductive organs and hormones, genetic determination of sex, development of the male and female reproductive systems; The male and female reproductive systems; Fertilization and initial embryonic development; Pregnancy and parturition; Fertility control in mammals.