STRUCTURE OF THE EPIDIDYMIS. 



605 



Fig. 180.' 



meter of the tubuli seminiferi, the 

 vasa recta. The vasa recta enter the 

 substance of the mediastinum, and 

 terminate in from seven to thirteen 

 ducts, smaller in diameter than the 

 vasa recta. These ducts pursue a 

 waving course from below upwards 

 throxigh the fibrous tissue of the 

 mediastinum ; they communicate 

 freely with each other, and constitute 

 the rete testis. At the upper extre- 

 mity of the mediastinum, the ducts 

 of the rete testis terminate in from 

 nine to thirty small ducts, the vasa 

 efferentiajt which form by their 

 convolutions a series of conical 

 masses, the coni vasculosi ; from the 

 bases of these cones tubes of larger 

 size proceed, which constitute by 

 their complex convolutions the body 

 of the epididymis. The tubes 

 become gradually larger towards 

 the lower end of the epididymis, 

 and terminate in a single large 

 and convoluted duct, the vas de- 

 ferens. 



The Epididymis is formed by the convolutions of the excretory 

 seminal ducts, external to the testis, previously to their termination 

 in the vas deferens. The more numerous convolutions and the aggre- 

 gation of the coni vasculosi at the upper end of the organ constitute 

 the globus major ; the continuation of the convolutions downwards is 

 the body; and the smaller number of convolutions of the single tube 

 at the lower extremity, the globus minor. The tubuli are connected 

 together by a very delicate areolar tissue, and are enclosed by the tunica 

 vaginalis. 



A small convoluted duct, of variable length, is generally connected 

 with the duct of the epididymis immediately before the commence- 

 ment of the vas deferens. This is the vasculum aberrans of Haller; it 

 is attached to the epididymis by the areolar tissue in which that body 



* Anatomy of the testis. ], 1. The tunica albuginea. 2, 2. The medias- 

 tinum testis. 3, 3. The lobuli testis. 4, 4. The vasa recta. 5. The rete testis, 



6. The vasa efferentia, of which six only are represented in this diagram. 



7. The coni vasculosi. constituting the globus major of the epididymis. 8. The 

 body of the epididymis. Q. The globus minor of the epididymis. 10. The vas 

 deferens. 11. The vasculum aberrans. 



t Each vas efferens with its cone measures, according to Lauth, about 8 

 inches. The entire length of the tubes composing the epididymis, according to 

 the same authority, is about 21 feet. 



