THE GENITAL ORGANS OF THE MALE. 978 



superior — defecatory — space. 2. An inferior— genito-urinary— space. Below 

 it is confounded with the fibrous envelope of the penis. 



4. The Glands annexed to the Urethra. 



A. Prostate (Fig. 522, 8). — This single and symmetrical gland is situated 

 at the commencement of the urethra, and lies across the neck of the bladder. A 

 constriction in the middle divides it into two voluminous lateral lobes, inclining 

 slightly forward. Its upper face corresponds to the rectum, through the medium 

 of the connective tissue at the bottom of the pelvic cavity. Its inferior face, 

 moulded on the neck of the bladder, embraces it above and laterally, and is 

 closely attached to it ; it covers the terminal extremity of the vas deferens and 

 ejaculatory ducts, and the neck of the vesiculae seminales. 



Structure. — The tissue composing this gland forms a number of com- 

 municating cells, which are larger in the Ass than the Horse ; in these is 

 collected a quantity of viscid fluid {succus prostaticas) secreted by their walls, 

 and which is ejected into the urethra by the two rows of orifices arranged on the 

 sides of the verumontanum. These communicating cells are nothing more than 

 conglomerate glands, which are distributed in a stroma of connective tissue and 

 uustriped muscular fibres. The epithelium of the glandular culs-de-sac is formed 

 of two layers of cells ; those of the excretory ducts are ciliated. 



B. Cowper's Glands. — In Veterinary anatomy, these are frequently named 

 the small prostates. They are two globular bodies, denser in texture than the 

 prostate gland, but otherwise the same in organization, except in their 

 epithelium, which is cylindrical. They are situated on each side of the urethra, 

 in the perinseal region, above the ischial arch, and are completely enveloped by 

 a somewhat thick fleshy covering, formed by the fibres of the compressor muscle 

 (Fig. 522, 11). 



The fluid they secrete is thrown into the urethral canal by numerous orifices 

 in several rows, near the middle line of the superior plane. It has the same 

 physical properties as that of the prostate, and both are poured into the urethra 

 in abundance immediately before ejaculation ; the expulsion of the semen is by 

 this means facilitated. 



5. The Corpus Cavernosum. 



The corpus cavernosum is an erectile body, which forms the base of the penis 

 and supports the urethra ; it is situated between the thighs, prolonged beneath 

 the abdomen, attached behind to the ischial arch, and terminates in front by a 

 free extremity, which is received into the erectile enlargement named the glans 

 penis. 



External conformation. — Flattened on both sides, this body offers for study 

 two lateral faces, two borders, and two extremities. 



The faces are plane, and present no features of interest. The superior, or 

 dorsal border, is the thickest, and is rounded on both sides. The inferior is 

 channeled throughout its extent by a deep furrow which lodges the urethra. 

 The posterior extremity is bifurcated, the two branches constituting the roots 

 (corpora or crura) of the penis ,• they are fixed to the ischial arch, one to the 

 right, the other to the left, and are covered by the two ischio-cavernosus 

 {erector penis) muscles — short, thick, and strong masses intersected by numerous 

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