THE PENIS 



1397 



PROSTATIC 

 MUSCLE 



open into the floor of the prostatic portion of the urethra, and are lined by two layers of epithe- 

 lium, the inner layer consisting of columnar and the outer of small cubical cells. 



Vessels and Nerves. The arteries supplying the prostate are derived from the internal 

 pudic. inferior vesical, and middle hemorrhoidal. Branches of the vessels enter the gland in 

 the septa between the lobules and send off 

 minute branches to the lobules (Walker). The 

 veins form a plexus around the sides and base 

 of the gland between the layers of the fascial 

 sheath ; they receive in front the dorsal vein of 

 the penis, and terminate in the internal iliac 

 vein. The lymphatics of the prostate are de- 

 scribed on page 799. The nerves are derived 

 from the pelvic plexus. 



Applied Anatomy. The relation of the 

 prostate to the rectum should be noted; by means 

 of the finger introduced into the rectum the 

 surgeon detects enlargement or other disease of 

 the prostate; he can feel the apex of the gland, 



GLANDULAR 

 TISSUE 



MUSCULAR 

 LAYER OF 

 URETHRA 



UTRICLE 



Fir. 1152. Section of the prostate. 



EJACULATORY 

 DUCT 



(Jarjavay.) 



which is the guide to Cock's operation for stric- 

 ture; he is enabled also by the same means to 

 direct the point of a catheter when its introduc- 

 tion is attended with difficulty either from injury or disease of the membranous or prostatic portions 

 of the urethra. When the finger is introduced into the bowel the surgeon may, in some cases, espe- 

 cially in boys, learn the position, as well as the size and weight, of a calculus in the bladder. In 

 the operation for the removal of a calculus, if, as is not infrequently the case, the stone should be 

 lodged behind an enlarged prostate, it may be displaced from its position by pressing upward the 

 base of the bladder from the rectum. The prostate gland is occasionally the seat of suppuration, 



FIG. 1153. Transverse section of normal prostate through the middle of the verumontanum, from a subject 

 aged nineteen years: a. Longitudinal section of ducts leading from the lobules of the prostatic glands. 6. 

 Verumontanum. c. Sinus pocularis. d. Urethra, e. Ejaculatory ducts. /. Arteries, veins, and venous 

 sinuses in sheath of prostate, g. Nerve trunks in sheath, h. Point of origin of fibromuscular bands encircling 

 urethra, i. Zone of striated voluntary muscle on superior surface. (Drawn with Kdinger projection appa- 

 ratus.) (Taylor.) 



either due to injury, gonorrhea, or tuberculous disease. The giand is enveloped in a dense un- 

 yielding capsule, which determines the course of an abscess, and also explains the great pain which 

 is present in acute inflammation. The abscess most frequently bursts into the urethra, the direc- 

 tion in which there is least resistance, but may occasionally burst into the rectum, or more rarely 

 in the perineum. In advanced life the prostate often becomes considerably enlarged, and may 

 project into the bladder so as to impede the passage of the urine. According to Dr. Messer's 



