Seminiferous Tubules are located in the testicles, the two oval-shaped organs on either side of a male’s penis. There are around 800 seminiferous tubules in each testicle, and this is where meiosis and subsequent development of spermatozoa occurs. In a mature adult male, each of these tubules creates thousands of sperm every second.
The tubules are tightly looped throughout the testes, and are incredibly long: perhaps as much as a mile between the two testes! Their tissue is lined with Sertoli Cells, a specialized cell type that is responsible for creating new sperm. They do so by secreting a protein that increases the concentration of testosterone inside the seminiferous tubules.
There are two distinct types of seminiferous tubules:
- Convoluted – located on the sides of the testes, where sperm cells are produced
- Straight – short canals that transport sperm cells to the rete testis, a network of small tubes in the testicle that helps move the sperm cells from the testicle to the epididymis
It is important to note that sperm are not entirely complete in their maturation upon leaving the seminiferous tubules, and will undergo further maturation in the epididymis, such as developing the tails that give them their motility.