THE ABDOMINAL WALL 



235 



early part of the eighth month of foetal life the testis, with its 

 epithelium and its mesorchium, descends along the posterior 

 wall of this diverticulum, and during the ninth month it comes 

 to rest near the lower end of the scrotum, where it projects 

 forwards in the posterior wall of the lower part of the pro- 

 cessus vaginalis. In the meantime, the cavity of the upper 

 part of the processus vaginalis disappears and its peritoneal 



Peritoneum 



Ductus deferens 

 Testis 



Testis 



Peritoneum - 



Gubernaculum.-- 



Ductus deferens . 

 Testis- 



Peritoneum - 



Processus vaginalis 

 Skin of scrotum 

 Gubernaculum 



Ductus deferens 

 and peritoneum 



Skin of scrotum 

 Processus vaginalis 

 Gubernaculum 



Peritoneum 

 Ductus deferens 



Closed part of pro- 

 cessus vaginalis 



Testis 



Tunica vaginalis 

 Gubernaculum 



FIG. 103. Diagrams illustrating the Descent of the Testis and the Deriva- 

 tion of the Tunica Vaginalis from the peritoneal lining of the abdominal 

 cavity. 



wall forms a solid fibrous cord (Rudimentum processus vaginalis]. 

 The lower part of the sac, thus cut off, is the tunica vaginalis 

 of the testis. Its cavity is now entirely separated from the 

 cavity of the peritoneum, but its wall is still connected with 

 the peritoneum, for a longer or shorter time, by the fibrous 

 cord which is the remains of the upper part of the processus 

 vaginalis. In most cases, however, that cord undergoes 

 atrophy, from below upwards, and in many cases, as already 

 mentioned, it entirely disappears. 



