This page outlines common features of both the male and female reproductive systems.
Separate pages describe the male reproductive system and the female reproductive system .
They also produce steroid hormones essential for reproduction as well the growth and development of the entire body. They allow for passage of the sperm from the male into the female. Ducts and accessory glands are the structures connecting the gonads to the genitalia. They are the site of final preparation of the gametes for fertilization, and in females also create the environment where fertilization occurs and the resulting embryo develops until birth. The creation of gametes is called gametogenesis .