1378 



THE URINOGEXITAL ORGANS 



converge, to the back part of the testicle. In the abdominal wall the cord passes 

 obliquely along the inguinal canal, lying at first beneath the Internal oblique muscle 

 and upon the fascia transversalis; but nearer the pubes it rests upon Poupart's 

 lio-ament, having the aponeurosis of the External oblique in front of it and the 

 conjoined tendon behind it. It then escapes at the external ring, and descends 

 nearly vertically into the scrotum. The left cord is usually rather longer than the 

 right, consequently the left testis generally hangs somewhat lower than its fellow. 



VAS 

 DEFERENS 



SPERMATIC 

 CORD 



INTERNAL 



SAPHENGUS 



VEIN 



FIG. 1128. The spermatic cord in the inguinal canal. (Poirier and Charpy.) 



Structure. The spermatic cord contains the spermatic duct or vas deferens, the deferential 

 artery and veins, the spermatic artery, the pampiniform plexus of veins, the spermatic plexus, 

 and the deferential plexus of the sympathetic nerve, lymphatics, and the cord-like remnant of the 

 funicular process of peritoneum called the ligament of Cloquet (Fig. 1127). All the above 

 structures are held together by connective tissue. These structures are ensheathed by the 

 infundibuliform process of the transversalis fascia (Fig. 1127 and p. 438). This fascia is thin 

 above and thicker below, and encloses the testicle and epididymis, as well as the cord, being 

 firmly adherent to the parietal layer of the vaginal tunic of the testicle and with the posterior por- 

 tion of the testicle and epididymis. Upon this fascia are the fibres of the Cremaster muscle, 

 which spring from the Internal oblique, and in this fascia are the cremasteric artery, the genital 

 branch of the genitofemoral nerve, and external spermatic veins. This fascia is surrounded by 

 the intercolumnar or spermatic fascia, which is distinct above, but not below. 



Vessels and Nerves of the Spermatic Cord. The arteries (Figs. 1124 and 1126) of the 

 cord are the spermatic, from the aorta; the artery of the vas deferens, from the superior vesical; 

 the cremasteric, from the deep epigastric. 



The spermatic artery (a. spermatica interna) arises from the abdominal aorta below the renal 

 artery, descends by the Psoas muscle, crosses the ureter and external iliac vessels, meets the vas 

 deferens at the internal abdominal ring, escapes from the abdomen at the internal or deep ab- 

 dominal ring, and lying in front of the vas deferens accompanies the other constituents of the 

 spermatic cord along the inguinal canal and through the external abdominal ring into the scrotum. 

 It then descends to the testis, and, becoming tortuous, divides into several branches, two or three 

 of which, the epididymal branches, accompany the vas deferens and supply the epididymis, 

 anastomosing with the artery of the vas deferens and the cremasteric artery; others, the glandular 

 branches, pierce the back of the tunica albuginea and supply the substance of the testis. 



The artery of the vas deferens (a. deferentialis), a branch of the superior vesical, is a long 

 slender vessel which accompanies the vas deferens, ramifying upon the coats of that duct, and 

 anastomosing with the spermatic artery and the cremasteric artery near the testis. 



