gonad

n.
An organ in animals that produces gametes, especially a testis or ovary.

[New Latin gonas, gonad-, from Greek gonos, procreation, genitals.]

gonadal go·nad'al (gō-năd'l) or go·nad'ic adj.

(gō′nad)
n

An ovary or testis, the site of origin of eggs or spermatozoa.

(goh-nadz)

The organs in animals that produce sex cells: ovaries in the female, testes in the male.

A sex gland; a gamete-producing gland; the ovary in the female and the testis in the male.
The ovary produces the ovum and the testis produces the spermatozoon. In addition, the gonads secrete hormones that influence the development of the reproductive organs and the physical traits that differentiate males from females, such as a crest and body form and size (the secondary sex characters). The hormones produced by the ovary include estrogen and progesterone. The principal hormone produced by the testis is testosterone.

• hermaphroditic g's — these gonads vary widely between combinations of male and female tissues in an ovotestis, of which there may be one or two, to a testicle on one side and an ovary on the other.
• indifferent g. — the primordial stage of the embryonal gonad, before differentiation into a male or female organ.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)