PELVIS MINOR 411 



MALE PELVIS MINOR. 



The male pelvis minor contains the following structures : 



The rectum and the pelvic colon. 1 

 The urinary bladder, with the lower portions of the 

 Viscera. ureters, the prostate, and the prostatic part of 



the urethra. 1 

 The ductus deferentes and the vesiculse seminales. 1 



{The hypogastric vessels and their branches and 

 tributaries. 

 _,, . , , ., . , 



The superior haemorrhoidal vessels. 

 Venous plexuses associated with the viscera. 

 !The pelvic plexuses of the sympathetic system and 

 their offshoots. 

 The obturator nerves. 

 The extraperitoneal fat. 

 The pelvic part of the peritoneum. 



The following structures lie between the pelvic fascia and 

 the bony and muscular strata of the pelvic wall : 



{The middle sacral vessels. 

 The parietal branches of the hypogastric vessels, 

 after they have pierced the fascia. 



,y / The sacro-pudendal and coccygeal plexuses of nerves. 



\ The pelvic parts of the sympathetic trunks. 



General Position of the Viscera. The pelvic colon and 

 the rectum occupy the posterior part of the cavity, the colon 

 extending in flexuous curves from the left margin of the superior 

 aperture of the pelvis minor to the middle of the third piece 

 of the sacrum, where it becomes the rectum. The rectum 

 follows the concavity of the sacrum and coccyx, and runs 

 forwards to the base of the urinary bladder (Figs. 189, 190). 

 The urinary bladder lies in the anterior part of the cavity, 

 behind the pubic bones, and in front of the rectum. The 

 seminal vesicles lie in a plane between the bladder and the 

 rectum, and the ductus deferentes having crossed the brim, 

 behind the origins of the inferior epigastric arteries, run 

 downwards and backwards, and then turn medially, across the 

 ureters, to gain the base of the bladder, at the medial sides of 

 the seminal vesicles. The pelvic portions of the ureters can 

 be seen descending, outside the peritoneum, along the fronts 

 of the hypogastric arteries, and turning medially, below the 



1 Strictly speaking, the urinary bladder, the prostate, the seminal vesicles, 

 and the lower parts of the rectum, ductus deferentes and ureters are not in 

 the pelvis, for they are embedded in the pelvic fascia and, therefore, lie in the 

 pelvic wall. 



