314 GENERATION. 



The Testicles. 



The testicles are two symmetrical organs, situated, during 

 a certain portion of intra-uterine life, in the abdominal cav- 

 ity, but finally descending into the scrotum. Within the 

 scrotum, which is a pouch-like process of integument, are the 

 two testicles, with their coverings, vessels, nerves, etc. The 

 skin of the scrotum' encloses both testicles, but is marked by 

 a median raphe. Immediately beneath the skin, is a loose, 

 reddish, contractile tissue, called the dartos, which forms two 

 distinct sacs, one enveloping each testicle, the inner portion 

 of these sacs fusing in the median line, to form the septum. 

 Within these two sacs, the coverings of each testicle are dis- 

 tinct. These organs are, as it were, suspended in the scro- 

 tum by the spermatic cords, the left usually hanging a little 

 lower than the right. The coverings for each testicle, in ad- 

 dition to those just mentioned, are the intercolumnar fascia, 

 the cremaster muscle, the inf undibulif orm fascia, the tunica 

 vaginalis, and the proper fibrous coat. 



The tunica vaginalis is a shut sac of serous membrane, 

 covering the testicle and epididymis, and reflected from the 

 posterior border of the testicle to the wall of the scrotum, 

 lining the cavity occupied by the testicle on either side, and 

 also extending over the spermatic cord. This tunic is really a 

 process of peritoneum, which has become shut off from the 

 general lining of the abdominal cavity. The spermatic cord 

 is composed of the vas def erens, blood-vessels, lymphatics, and 

 nerves, with the various coverings already described, which 

 expand and surround the testicle. 



Beneath the tunica vaginalis, are the testicles, with their 

 proper fibrous coat. These organs are ovoid, and flattened 

 laterally and posteriorly. " They are from an inch and a 

 half to two inches long, about an inch and a quarter from 

 the anterior to the posterior border, and nearly an inch from 

 side to side. The weight of each varies from three-quarters 

 of an ounce to an ounce, and the left is often a little the 



