CHAPTER XVI 



THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 

 THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF THE MALE. 



THE male reproductive organs comprise the Testes, the Vas Deferens, 

 the Vesicula Seminalis, the Prostate Gland, and the Penis. 



The Testes. The testes consist of two parts, i, the testicle, which 

 is covered by the tunica vaginalis and secretes the germinal cells, and 2, the 

 conducting tubules, which compose the epididymis and vas deferens. 



The testicle is divided by connective-tissue septa into lobules, the tubuli 

 semi ni jeri. Each tubule is limited by a membrana propria on which rests 

 the germinal epithelium. 



On the approach of sexual maturity the process of spermatogenesis begins. 



\ 



FIG. 486. F IG . 487. 



FIG. 486. Plan of a Vertical Section of the Testicle, Showing the Arrangement of the Ducts. 

 The true length and diameter of the ducts have been disregarded, a, a, Tubuli seminiferi coiled 

 up in the separate lobes; b, tubuli recti or vasa recta; c, rete testis; d, vasa deferentia ending in 

 the coni vasculosi; /, e, g, convoluted canal of the epididymis; h, vas deferens; /, section of 

 the back part of the tunica albuginea; i, i, fibrous processes running between the lobes; s, me- 

 diastinum. 



FIG. 487. Vertical Section through the Wall of the Tubules of Epididymis. X 700 (Kol- 

 liker.) b, Connective tissue and smooth muscle cells; e, basal layer of epithelial cells; f, high 

 columnar cells; p, pigment granules in columnar cells; c, cuticula; h, cilia. 



The germinal cells multiply rapidly, and, by a complex series of mi totic divisions 

 or stages, form ultimately the male reproductive cells, or sperm cells. 



The important stages in order are: archispermiocyte, spermatogonia, 

 primary and secondary spermatocytes, spermatids, and spermatozoa. The 

 spermatogonia stage is the stage of rapid multiplication; the spermatocyte, 

 that of maturation, comparable to the maturation stage of the ovum. 



679 



