CHAPTER XIV. 



THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 



THE consideration of the organs of reproduction naturally 

 falls into two parts, those of the male and those of the female. 



MALE GENITAL ORGANS. 



The male genital organs consist of the testicles, the epidid- 

 ymis, the vas deferens, the seminal vesicles, the prostate, 

 Cowper's glands, and the penis, besides vestiges of foatal 

 structures. The main portion of these, the testes and seminal 

 ducts, are derived from the embryonic Wolffian body, and 

 their epithelium is therefore of mesoblastic origin. 



The scrotum, the pouch containing the testicles, is covered 

 externally with skin, thin and plicated. Beneath, and closely 

 connected with the skin, is the dartos, a layer of vascular 

 contractile tissue composed of areolar tissue and involuntary 

 muscle. A septum from the dartos divides the scrotum into 

 lateral halves. Beneath the dartos are strata of areolar and 

 fibrous tissue the intercolumnar fascia, cremasteric fascia, and 

 fascia propria ; the cremasteric fascia also contains strands of 

 striated and non-striated muscle. Beneath these layers is the 

 parietal layer of the tunica vaginalis, a closed serous sac 

 derived from the peritoneum and invaginated into itself to 

 form a covering for the testicle. 



The Testicle. 



The testicle is a compound tubular gland in which the 

 spermatozoa are generated. Attached to the posterior aspect 

 of the testicle is the epididymis, which consists of a body, an 

 expanded upper extremity, or head, called the globus major, 

 and a smaller lower extremity, or tail, the globus minor. 

 The testicle is essentially a congeries of tubules, secretory 

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