THE PELVIS AND THE_GENITAL ORGANS. 165 



and is next to the rectum, through which an examina- 

 tion may be made to determine its size. For it 

 often enlarges in elderly men, the frequent passage of 

 urine in small amounts being a symptom of enlarged 

 prostate. 



The procreating glands, which secrete the spermatozoa 

 or semen, are two in number, the testes or testicles, and 

 are homologous to the ovaries in the female. They are 

 ovoid in form and are suspended by the spermatic cords 

 in a sac, the scrotum, back of the penis. During early 

 fetal life they are in the back of the abdomen near the 

 kidneys, but before birth they descend along the in- 

 guinal canals into the scrotum. The excretory duct 

 of the testis is called the vas deferens. It passes up by 

 the spermatic cord through the inguinal canal into the 

 pelvis to the base of the bladder and at the base of the 

 prostate joins the duct of the vesicula seminalis to 

 form the ejaculatory duct. The two vesiculce seminales 

 are small receptacles for the semen lying in contact with 

 the base of the bladder and secrete a fluid with which 

 they dilute the semen. The ejaculatory duct terminates 

 near the prostate in the urethra by a slit-like orifice on 

 each side, the spermatozoa being finally excreted through 

 the urethra. 



The penis is the external organ of generation in the 

 male and is attached to the pubes and the anterior part 

 of the ischium. It is composed of erectile tissue and 

 encloses the urethra, the meatus urinarius appearing 

 at its end as a vertical slit. Toward the end the skin 

 of the penis is loose and is prolonged forward in what 

 is known as the prepuce or foreskin. It is this that is 

 clipped away in circumcision. 



The Female Generative Organs. The female genera- 

 tive organs include the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, 

 vagina, and the external genitalia or vulva. 



The ovaries, which are homologous to the testes in 

 the male, are two flattened oval bodies, grayish pink 

 in color, suspended from the lateral or broad ligaments 



