Animal Castration 21 



the testicle. Deeper we have the funnel-shaped infundibuliform 

 fascia which originates at the internal abdominal ring. This fascia 

 is simply a sheath over the testicle, the cord and their tunics. 



Inguinal Canal — This canal is situated obliquely between the 

 crural arch and the internal oblique muscle. The arch forms its 

 posterior and the muscle its anterior wall. It is compressed lat- 

 erally and through it pass the spermatic cord and the pudic artery. 

 Its external orifice is termed the external abdominal ring. This 

 ring is oval in shape and its direction is backwards and upwards. 

 The internal abdominal ring is a small aperture in the abdom- 

 inal wall and is situated at the uppermost part of the inguinal 

 canal, which is about 8 to 10 inches above the external abdom- 

 inal ring. The contents of the inguinal canal pass through the 

 internal abdominal ring in making their exit from the abclommal 

 cavity. 



Sheath. — The sheath is a loose conglomeration of skin extending 

 from the scrotum forward, and contains the free portion of the 

 penis. The anterior loose double fold of sheath is known as the 

 prepuce or foreskin, which is corrugated to accommodate the 

 penis during erection and protrusion. Opening into the sheath 

 are ducts from the glanclulae odoriferae which secrete an odorous 

 matter peculiar to the sheath. The sheath is suspended from 

 the abdominal walls by suspensory ligaments. 



Spermatic Cord — The testicle is suspended in the scrotum by 

 the spermatic cord which migrates through the inguinal canal from 

 the abdominal cavity to the scrotum. The following structures 

 enter into its formation: Spermatic venis, spermatic artery, 

 nerves, vas deferens, lymphatics, cremaster muscle and tunica 

 vaginalis. The vas deferens is situated in the posterior part of 

 the cord and is enclosed in a special fold detached from the inner 

 surface of the tunica vaginalis. 



