176 THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. 



ends terminate in short straight tubules which empty into the 

 channels forming the rete testis. These tubuli recti are nar- 

 rower in calibre than the convoluted portions, and are lined 

 with a single layer of low columnar or cuboidal epithelium- 

 cells. 



The rete testis is a network of anastomosing channels and 

 sinuses formed by the union of the tubuli recti. These chan- 

 nels are situated in the substance of the mediastinum testis, 

 and are lined with a single layer of flattened epithelial cells 

 resting on the surrounding fibrous tissue. 



The vasa efferentia : The seminiferous channels of the rete 

 testis at its upper end continue upward in the form of ten to 

 fifteen efferent vessels, the outlet-ducts of the testis, which 

 pass through the tunica albuginea and enter the globus major, 

 where they form the coni vasculosi. These vasa efferentia are 

 lined with stratified columnar epithelium, partly ciliated the 

 epithelium cells are thrown up into ridges and papilla? which 

 project into the interior of the tubules and give the free 

 surface a sinuous and undulating character. The epithelium 

 rests on a basement-membrane and thick fibrous A 

 taining involuntary muscle-cells arranged transversely. 



In the globus major the efferent tubules are coiled and con- 

 volued, making up the coni vasculosi (or lobuli epididymidis\ 

 each tube forming a conical mass or lobule. The globus major 

 is made up of these lobules. 



The several tubes forming the coni vasculosi unite ulti- 

 mately into one tube which continues downward and onward 

 as the canal of the epididymis. 



The epididymis consists macroscopically of a body, a head 

 or globus major above, and a globus minor below 7 . The globus 

 major is intimately connected with the testis by the vasa 

 efferentia ; the globus minor is attached to the testis by fibrous 

 tissue ; the body of the epididymis mainly by the tunica 

 vaginalis. 



The body and globus minor of the epididymis are made 

 up of the windings of the canal of the epididymis, which is 

 the continuation of the united vasa efferentia. The canal of 

 the epididymis is a single long continuous tube, coiled, con- 

 voluted, and packed into small compass ; it is lined with strat- 

 ified ciliated epithelium, resting on a basement-membrane and 



