THE TESTIS 375 



it tends to collect in a small, but gradually increasing, pocket 

 behind the enlarged portion of the gland. As the residual 

 urine is very apt to undergo fermentative changes and to set 

 up cystitis, it is a matter of great importance that the patient 

 should make every effort to empty the bladder completely, 

 the expedient of passing urine "on hands and knees" being 

 very useful in this respect in some cases. 



The Testis is oval in shape and lies in the scrotum with 

 its upper pole tilted slightly forwards. The two glands do 

 not lie at the same level, and the left one is usually the lower. 

 The nerve-supply of the testis is derived from the sympathetic 

 system (L. i and 2 ? ) and reaches the gland by accompanying 

 the internal spermatic artery. Mackenzie states that a branch 

 of the external spermatic nerve (genital branch of genito- 

 crural) supplies the visceral coat of the tunica vaginalis, 

 which is a portion of the peritoneum that has become shut 

 off from the general peritoneal lining of the abdomen. 

 Referred pain felt in the testis in cases of renal colic is 

 therefore experienced in the terminal fibres of the external 

 spermatic nerve. 



The testis receives its blood-supply from the abdominal 

 aorta through the internal spermatic artery, which reaches its 

 destination by passing through the inguinal canal as one of 

 the constituents of the spermatic cord. Numerous veins 

 emerge from the testis and ascend along the cord to gain the 

 interior of the abdomen. They constitute the pampiniform 

 plexus, and, owing partly to their dependent position and 

 partly to the absence of valves, they are liable to become 

 varicose. The condition, however, almost invariably occurs 

 on the left side, and no really satisfactory explanation has yet 

 been offered. 



The efferent ducts of the testis emerge from its upper 

 pole and pass directly into the caput (globus major) of the 

 epididymis, where they unite to form a much convoluted 

 tube. 



The Epididymis is an elongated structure, which is closely 



