The Reproductive System

    Most nematode species have males and females, although, depending on the mode of reproduction, in some cases males are more rare than females/hermaphrodites. 

     The female and male reproductive systems are diverse in configurations. 

    Upon closer examination, the female/hermaphrodite and male reproductive tracts, enclosed by an epithelial sheath, include highly specialized regions (7). In most nematodes the developing germ cells progressively mature from the distal end marked by a cap cell, thus points of maturation are distinguished as germinal zone and growth zone in both the ovary and testis (7). In females/hermaphrodites the ovary leads to an oviduct that may include a structure specialized for sperm storage, the spermatheca (A). The spermatheca leads to a muscular uterus, that is functionally involved in expelling eggs through the vagina to the vulva opening (A). The testis may terminate at a seminal vesicle specialized for storing sperm, and sometimes set off from the growth zone by a constricted region, the vas efferens (B). Proximally a vas deferens leads to a common duct with the digestive tract, the cloaca, thorugh which sperm are released. 
 
    Both the male and female/hermaphrodite reproductive tracts may include a range of specialized glands. 

Fig. 7  General representation of detailed structures commonly associated with female/hermatphrodite (A) and male (B) reproductive tracts