4I0 VETERINARY LECTURES 



696. The Urethra {Plate XV III., P, and Plate XLL, A 5) is a 

 tube which, in the male, acts as an excretory duct for both the 

 urinary and generative systems, and is contained within the penis. 

 In the female, however, it has only one use, and that is for the 

 passage of urine. 



697. Urine.— This is a fluid which may be either acid or alkaline 

 in its reaction, according to the class of animal from which it is 

 excreted. In herbivorous animals it is alkaline, and of a rather 

 muddy appearance. The horse excretes, on an average, about 8 

 to 10 pints of urine per day, but the quantity and quality can be 

 greatly altered by various conditions. These are chiefly variation 

 in food and work, housing, the drinking of large quantities of water, 

 and the action of certain drugs and medicinal agents, such as nitre, 

 resin, turpentine, juniper, cantharides, and the various balsams. 



MALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 



698. The male organs of generation are the Testicles, Sper- 

 matic Cord, the accessory glands and ducts ; the Penis, containing 

 the Urethra ; the Inguinal Canals, the Scrotum and the Sheath. 



699. The Testicles (Plate XV III., M M) are two oval bodies 

 situated in the scrotum and attached by the upper border to the 

 spermatic cord. The testicles are the organs which secrete the 

 seminal fluid containing the spermatozoa. This fluid is carried by 

 one of the accessory organs or excretory ducts — the vas deferens— 

 to the reservoirs near the neck of the bladder, where it accumulates. 



700. The Spermatic Cords are two in number, and are made up 

 of various tissues, including bloodvessels, nerves, muscular fibre, and 

 the vas deferens, or seminal duct. These cords pass up the inguinal 

 canal and hold the testes in position in the scrotum. 



701. The Accessory Organs are the epididymis, vas deferens, 

 vesicula seminalis, the ejaculatory ducts, the prostate and Cowpers 

 glands. 



702. The Penis (Plate XVIII., O), or external organ, consists 

 principally of erectile tissue, and through it runs the urethra. 



