THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS. 



i mm., and is composed of closely interwoven longitudinal bundles 

 of white fibrous tissue, intermingled with well-developed elastic fibres. 

 Within this common in- 

 vestment each body is FIG. 261. 

 surrounded by an indi- 

 vidual sheath of circu- 

 larly-disposed bundles, 

 which, in the mid-line, 

 takes part in forming 

 the pectinate septum ; in 

 other places the sheaths 

 contribute the trabeculae 

 belonging to the enclosed 

 erectile tissue. 



The trabeculse spring 

 from all parts of the in- 

 vesting fibrous tunics, 

 including the septum, 

 and pass inward, join- 

 ing with their fellows on 

 all sides to form a frame- 

 work, the basis of the 

 cavernous tissue, which 

 occupies the entire cav- 

 ernous body. While the trabeculae are stouter and larger near the 

 periphery than in the centre, the included spaces, on the contrary, are 

 larger near the middle and 

 smaller at the circumference 

 of the cavernous bodies ; to- 

 wards the anterior end of the 

 penis the spaces become gen- 

 erally larger. In addition to 

 the white fibrous tissue com- 

 posing their principal part, the 

 trabeculse contain elastic fibres 

 and unstriped muscles, to- 

 gether with the blood-vessels 

 which the larger bands sup- 

 port. The interspaces of this 

 spongy structure are cavern- 

 ous venous channels, which 

 form an intercommunicating system of canals throughout the cav- 

 ernous body. These spaces, lined with endothelium, and communi- 

 cating on the one hand with the arteries and on the other with 



Section of penis of child near end : a, corpora cavernosa ; 

 b, fibrous envelope of same ; c, imperfect septum ; d, corpus 

 spongiosum ; e, urethra ; f, sebaceous glands ; g, epithelium 

 of skin ; /', that lining the sac of prepuce ; k, section of latter; 

 , blood-vessels. 



Section of erectile tissue of human penis : v, blood- 

 spaces lined with endothelium ; t, fibrous trabeculae 

 containing bundles of non-striped muscle (m) cut in 

 various directions ; b, blood-vessels. 



