REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 8ll 



Cauda epididymis posteriorly, and a narrow band between 

 them. The cauda epididymis is connected to the scrotal 

 sac by a short cord or gubernaculum. 



Through the tubes of the epididymis (the modified meso- 

 nephros) the spermatozoa developed in the testis are 

 collected into the vas deferens (the modified Wolffian 

 duct), which arises from the cauda epididymis, ascends to 

 the abdomen, loops round the ureter, and, passing dorsally 

 to the bladder, opens beside its fellow into a median sac 

 called the uterus masculinus. In many Mammals, paired 

 diverticula, known as seminal vesicles, are connected with 

 the ends of the vasa deferentia, but they are not developed 

 in the rabbit. 



The uterus masculinus is the homologue of the vagina in 

 the female, and seems to arise from the Miillerian ducts. 

 It opens into the urethra, which runs backwards from the 

 bladder, and the urinogenital canal thus formed is continued 

 through the penis. 



Beside the uterus mascuUnus and the vasa deferentia, 

 there are lobed prostate glands opening by several ducts 

 into the urinogenital canal. Behind the prostate, on the 

 dorsal wall of the urinogenital canal, lie two Cowper's 

 glands. 



The penis projects in front of the anus behind the pubic 

 symphysis, has vascular dorsal walls (corpus spongiosum), 

 stiff ventral walls (corpora cavernosa), and is invested by a 

 loose sheath of skin— the prepuce. At the side of the penis 

 lie two perineal glands. 



{b) Female. — The ovaries are small oval bodies about 

 three-quarters of an inch in length, attached behind the 

 kidneys to the dorsal abdominal wall, exhibiting on their 

 surface several clear projections or Graafian follicles, each 

 of which encloses an ovum. 



The ova, when mature, burst from the ovaries, and are 

 caught by the adjacent anterior openings of the oviducts. 

 The oviducts are modified Miillerian ducts, differentiated 

 into three regions. The anterior portion or Fallopian tube 

 is narrow, sUghtly convoluted, with a funnel-shaped, fimbri- 

 ated mouth lying close to the ovary. The median portion 

 or uterus is the region in which the fertilised ova become 

 attached and develop. In the rabbit the uterine regions of 



