1236 SPLANCHNOLOGY 



most common form is where the deficiency is confined to the glans penis. The urethra ends at 

 the point where the extremity of the prepuce joins the body of the penis, in a small valve-like 

 opening. The prepuce is also cleft on its under surface and forms a sort of hood over the glans. 

 There is a depression on the glans in the position of the normal meatus. This condition produces 

 no disability and requires no treatment. In more severe cases the cavernous portion of the 

 urethra is cleft throughout its entire length, and the opening of the urethra is at the point of 

 junction of the penis and scrotum. The under surface of the penis in the middle line presents a 

 furrow lined by .a moist mucous membrane, on either side of which is often more or less dense 

 fibrous tissue stretching from the glans to the opening of the urethra, which prevents complete 

 erection taking place. Great discomfort is induced during micturition, and sexual connection is 

 impossible. The condition may be remedied by a series of plastic operations. The worst form 

 of this condition is where the urethra is deficient as far back as the perineum, and the scrotum 

 is cleft. The penis is small and bound down between the two halves of the scrotum, so as to 

 resemble an hypertrophied clitoris. The testes are often retained. The condition of parts, 

 therefore, very much resembles the external organs of generation of the female, and many chil- 

 dren the victims of this malformation have been brought up as girls. The halves of the scrotum, 

 deficient of testes, resemble the labia, the cleft between them looks like the orifice of the vagina, 

 and the diminutive penis is taken for an enlarged clitoris. There is no remedy for this condition. 

 A much more uncommon form of malformation is where there is an apparent deficiency of the 

 upper wall of the urethra; this is named epispadias. The deficiency may vary in extent; when 

 it is complete the condition is associated with extroversion of the bladder. In less extensive cases, 

 where there is no extroversion, there is an infundibuliform opening into the bladder. The 

 penis is usually dwarfed and turned upward, so that the glans lies over the opening. Con- 

 genital stricture is also occasionally met with, and in such cases multiple strictures may be 

 present throughout the whole length of the cavernous portion. 



The Female Urethra (Urethra Muliebris) (Fig. 113U). 



The female urethra is a narrow membranous canal, about 4 cm. long, extending 

 from the internal to the external urethral orifice. It is placed behind the sym- 

 physis pubis, imbedded in the anterior wall of the vagina, and its direction is ob- 

 liquely downward and forward; it is slightly curved with the concavity directed 

 forward. Its diameter when undilated is about 6 mm. It perforates the fasciae 

 of the urogenital diaphragm, and its external orifice is situated directly in front 

 of the vaginal opening and about 2.5 cm. behind the glans clitoridis. The lining 

 membrane is thrown into longitudinal folds, one of which, placed along the floor 

 of the canal, is termed the urethral crest. Many small urethral glands open into 

 the urethra. 



Structure. The urethra consists of three'coats: muscular, erectile, and mucous. 



The muscular coat is continuous with that of the bladder; it extends the whole length of the 

 tube, and consists of circular fibers. In addition to this, between the superior and inferior fasciae 

 of the urogenital diaphragm, the female urethra is surrounded by the Sphincter urethra mem- 

 branacese, as in the male. 



A thin layer of spongy erectile tissue, containing a plexus of large veins, intermixed with 

 bundles of unstriped muscular fibers, lies immediately beneath the mucous coat. 



The mucous coat is pale; it is continuous externally with that of the vulva, and internally with 

 that of the bladder. It is lined by stratified squamous epithelium, which becomes transitional 

 near the bladder. Its external orifice is surrounded by a few mucous follicles. 



THE MALE GENITAL ORGANS (ORGANA GENITALIA VIRILIA). 



The male genitals include the testes, the ductus deferentes, the vesiculse semi- 

 nales, the ejaculatory ducts, and the penis, together with the following accessory 

 structures, viz., the prostate and the bulbourethral glands. 



The Testes and Their Coverings. (Figs. 1143, 1144, 1145). 



The testes are two glandular organs, which secrete the semen; they are suspended 

 in the scrotum by the spermatic cords. At an early period of fetal life the testes 

 are contained in the abdominal cavity, behind the peritoneum. Before birth they 



