Gonad
endocrine gland that produces the gametes of an organism
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive organ is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes (reproductive cells), and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm cells.
The male gonad, the testicle, produces sperm cells, the female gonad, the ovary, produces egg cells. Both of these gametes are haploid cells. Some hermaphroditic animals and some humans have a type of gonad called an ovotestis that contains both ovarian and testicular tissue.
Evolution
It is hard to find a common origin for gonads, but gonads most likely evolved independently several times.
Regulation
The gonads are controlled by luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), produced and secreted by gonadotropes or gonadotrophins in the anterior pituitary gland. This secretion is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) produced in the hypothalamus.
Development
The gonads develop from three sources; the mesothelium, underlying mesenchyme and the primordial germ cells. Gonads start developing as a common primordium (an organ in the earliest stage of development), in the form of a genital ridge, at the sixth week, which are only later differentiated to male or female sex organs (except when they are not differentiated).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gonad” is endocrine gland that produces the gametes of an organism. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gonad, endocrine and gland, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “endocrine gland that produces the gametes of an organism” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q213456. The Library of Congress control number is sh85055840. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gonad” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.