304 EXTERNAL GENERATIVE ORGANS, BY E. KLEIN. 



From this description it is obvious that on the occurrence of 

 an increased flow of blood through the arteries of this portion 

 of the urethra, the discharge of such blood through the cor- 

 responding veins cannot take place with the same rapidity, and 

 hence an accumulation of any surplus supply must occur in 

 the large venous plexuses of the mucous membrane. Hence it 

 follows that these plexuses constitute an erectile tissue, and 

 that, in accordance with Henle, we may regard this portion of 

 the urethra as, though undoubtedly only feebly developed, an 

 erectile body. 



The nerves here exhibit relations similar to those that have 

 been already described ; ganglionic nodal points being distri- 

 buted in the trunks, which are composed of medullated fibres, 

 that run externally to the muscular coat. 



Loven has described ganglion cells and ganglion nodes as 

 existing (1) in the posterior surface of the pars membranacea 

 urethrse ; (2) in the dense connective tissue on the posterior 

 part of the bulb ; and (3) in the plexuses formed around the 

 vessels by the lateral fasciculi of the nervi erigentes at the side 

 of the bulb. 



Before the corpus cavernosum urethrse enlarges to form the 

 bulb, and where the crura penis are already in close proximity 

 to the urethra, but are still below it, a longitudinal mass of 

 smooth muscular fibres penetrates between the two ischio- 

 cavernosi and the perinseal muscles, consisting of variously sized 

 fasciculi, and having a circular area of about 2' 2 5 millimeters 

 in diameter. The fasciculi of which it is composed are more 

 closely compressed towards the centre of the mass than at the 

 circumference. Those near the upper portion of the periphery 

 which is turned towards the urethra are oblique or even almost 

 circular in direction. With it a continuous layer of longitudinal 

 fasciculi of smooth muscle lying between Cowper's glands and 

 their excretory ducts, that is to say, the crura penis, is directly 

 connected. This mass of muscle is separated from the excretory 

 ducts of Cowper's glands only by a layer of smooth muscular 

 fibres that run parallel to the ducts. The thickness of this mus- 

 cular layer between the glands of Cowper amounts to 0'89 of a 

 millimeter, and between the crura penis to 0*54 of a millimeter. 



Numerous fasciculi are given off from this muscular mass, 



