THE MALE URETHRA. T119 
lobules, and is of the compound racemose type. The ductules of each gland unite 
to form a single duct (ductus exeretorius), which pierces the bulb of the corpus 
spongiosum, and, after a relatively long course, ends by opening into the spongy 
portion of the urethra by a minute aperture. The secreting acini are lined by 
| columnar epithelium. 
5 The glands receive their arterial supply from the artery to the bulb. 
In old age these glands may be difficult or impossible to find. 
THE MALE URETHRA. 
The urethra in the male is a channel of about eight inches in length leading 
| from the bladder to the external urethral orifice at the extremity of the glans 
| penis. The canal serves not only for the passage of urine, but it also affords an 
| exit for the seminal products which enter by the common ejaculatory ducts, and 
for the secretion of the prostatic and Cowper’s glands. In addition, numerous 
minute glands (glandulee urethrales) pour their secretion into the urethra. 
| The first part of the urethra les within the pelvic cavity, and has an almost 
ws \ | j = 
a ; First sacral vertebra 
. Peritoneal cae \\\ Bt a = Z oe 2 2 mA [ge ME IT cavity of bladder 
5 3 : x 7 T / 
rcilexion x en r S j : SF fctie 5) i | 
sf 3 ss au 5 uf S: ; seit i i 
Symphysis pubis 
Prostate 
Compressor urethre 
Corpus | External sphincter ani 
cavernosum q j 
y Internal sphincter ani 
Bulb of urethra Anal canal 
-cayernosus ; : 
Bulbo-cay ¥xternal sphincter ani 
Fic. 766.—MESIAL SECTION THROUGH THE MALE PELVIS, opening up the whole length of the urethra. 
Drawn from a specimen in the Anatomical Department, Trinity College, Dublin. 
vertical course as it traverses the prostate. Turning more forwards, the urethra 
passes below the pubic arch, and pierces the fibrous layers which form the pelvic 
wall in this region. Leaving the pelvic cavity, the canal enters the bulb of the 
corpus spongiosum, where the latter is attached to the triangular ligament, and 
throughout the rest of its course it lies surrounded by the erectile tissue of the 
corpus spongiosum and glans penis. The part of the urethra which lies embedded in 
