316 OF THE GENITAL FUNCTION IN MAN. 



time bent down) until it lies directly over the opening 

 of the passage. 



515. The testis being now ready for descent, the 

 opening which was hitherto small, becomes dilated, so 

 as to allow the organ to pass the abdominal ring and 

 passage and to descend into the bulbous sac (511); after 

 this occurrence, the opening soon becomes strongly 

 closed and even grows together, leaving scarcely any 

 vestige of itself in infancy. 



516. In proportion to the slowness with which the 

 testis proceeded towards the opening, does its transit 

 through the abdominal passage appear rapid, and, as 

 it were, instantaneous. It is common to find the testis 

 in mature foetuses either lying over the peritonaeal 

 opening, or, having passed this, resting in the groin; 

 but I have once only met with the right testis, in a twin 

 foetus, at the very time when it was adhering, and in a 

 manner strangled, in the middle of the passage, being 

 just about to enter the sac ; in this instance, the left 

 testis had passed the abdominal canal and was already 

 in the sac, and the abdominal opening was perfectly 

 closed. 



517. This remarkable passage of the testis from the 

 abdomen through the groin, is limited to no period, but 

 would seem to occur generally about the last month of 

 pregnancy ; the testicles are found, however, not very 

 rarely in the abdomen or the upper portion of the groin 

 at birth. For they have always another part of their 

 course to finish, after leaving the abdomen, viz. to de- 

 scend, together with their sac, from the groin into the 

 scrotum. 



518. Repeated observation demonstrates this to be 

 the true course of the testicles. To assign the powers 



