GENERATION. 



t'iz. : in one inl\a;ico it pafTcJ down on tlic day of birth ; 

 the J.Lent took place in three fuhjofts on th.e iocond day, 

 in an eqnal number on the third, in two on the fifth, and in 

 o.ie on the twenty-fii'SK In the remaining indiviJiials, they 

 had no* appeared on the fourth and fifth weeks from the 

 lime of birtli ; and as the children then lefL the hofpital, the 

 time of defcent was not known. In three inllanees, the de- 

 feent was obferved to be ;iccompanied with crying and con- 

 vu'five motions of the limbs. Both teftes liad pafled into 

 •tiie fcrotum of one child, born at the end of feven months, 

 and weighing- only 3^1bs. ; which mull be deemed a rare oc- 

 currence. They ha\t betn feen in the ring; in a foetus of four 

 monilis. Bicliat, Anat. Defer, t. 5. p. 23.1. 



The colour of the org-an, while in the abdomen, isgreyidi, 

 and its form elongated. The epididymis is confiderably 

 l.irner in proportion than in the adult, and i'.o head lies confi- 

 derably above the telHs : it is more loof-ly connefted to the 

 body of the gland. The coniiftence of liie telles at this 

 time is fofl and pulpy. 



The penis, at the time of birth, although fmall, is well 

 formed, and pofl'efies an elongated prepuce, which completely 

 covers the glans. The integimients of the penis, as well as 

 'thole of the fcrotnm, are not diftinguilhed in colour from 

 thofe of the body in general. The rng.c of the fcrotum 

 are not yet well marked. There is a fmall quantity of fat 

 in the fcrotum, and the fibrous covering, common to the 

 cord and tellis, cannot yet be diilinguilhed. The veficulx 

 feminales, in confequence of the pofition of the bladder, 

 peculiar to this age, are nearly vertical in their direftion, 

 ■very fmall and collapfed, and not exhibiting the tubercles on 

 their furface feen in the adult. Internally they contain a 

 mucous fluid. 



The corpus cavernofum penis is very fliort and fmall, and 

 remarkable for the fmall proportion of its fpongy fubftance, 

 and the trifling quantity of blood which it contains. The 

 latter circumttance is ftiil more tlriking after a few years, in 

 confequence of the increafcd tl.ickneis of the fibrous mem- 

 brane : hence, as ereftion depends principally on the fwell- 

 ing of the fpongy part of th.e corpus cavernofurn, the penis 

 of children, when eredled in confequence of fome fympathe- 

 tic excitation, is hardly increafed in fizc, and very little in 

 length. The urethra, in the firll years of Hfe, is long ; and 

 Its direftion from the bladder to below the fymphyfis pubis 

 is more oblique than in the adult. Thefe two circumftances, 

 in the conformation of the urinary canal, arife from the blad- 

 der being fituatcd higher in the abdomen, and from the fu- 

 perior aperture of the pelvis being more llanting. The pre- 

 puce is elongated, fo as to give the penis a pointed termina- 

 tion. Its opening, always very narrow, may be fo fmall as 

 to prevent the difcharge of the urine, or to render it im- 

 praciicable to denude the glans. The latter circumftance 

 conllitutLS congenital phimofis. The frenum is narrow and 

 reaches to the opening of the urethra. 



Mo great changes are obferved in the organs of generation 

 from the time of birth until puberty. Bufied with the gene- 

 ral organization of man, and particularly attentive to the 

 bringing to perfection the agents by which lie communicates 

 with furi-ounding objefts, to the putting in aclion the fprings 

 of his intelletlual powers, nature feems, if we may ufe the 

 exprelfion, to forget the inflrunients of reproduflion, which 

 continue for a time ftationary. If, during this long period, 

 tiiele organs undergo no important revolution, they partake 

 (lightly in the general growth. Each of them, confidered 

 fingly, without increafing in any very marked degree, be- 

 comes more perfeft in its organization, of which tlie princi- 

 jinl traits may be more ealily obferved fome years after birth. 

 fiat ihefc changes, wliich take place very gradually, are 



trifling when compared with thofe which happen at pu. 

 berty. 



Changes in th: male Organs at the Time of Puberty. — In the 

 two or three years immediately preceding this period, the 

 pubes is covered by a flight down, which appears generally 

 before the beard. We may remark alio, that its appearance 

 is more eonllant, and its growth more rapid. In faft, the 

 hair on the generative organs, although it is not completely 

 developed for fome years, has gained nearly its lull lengtli 

 and thicknefs, while the beard is ftill thin and fliurt. At the 

 fame time that the hairs appear, the flvin of the fcrotum and 

 penis lofes its whitenefs, and becomes more or lels brown in 

 conformity with the tint which it polfefics in other parts of 

 the body. The fcrotum, hitherto contrafted, becomes 

 longer ; the tefticle is removed to a trreater diflance from the 

 ring, and the fpermatic cord proportionally elongated. 

 The penis becomes larger and longer ; the frequent ereftions 

 occafion the prepuce to appear fiiorter, and the glans to be a 

 little uncovered. The various layers compofing the fcrotum 

 are complete at this time. The teilis is proportionally 

 larger than the veficulx feminales and pjnis, as the cxercife of 

 the generative funftions commences here. The veficulae fe- 

 minales are ftill very fmall, even iji a fubjeft of 14 or 15 

 years. The canal of the urethra, as well as the other parts 

 of the penis, is confiderably increafed, as may be feen by 

 obferving the ftream of urine. 



In old men the fcrotum is generally foft and pendent, 

 and external imprefiions are no longer able to bring it into 

 the ftate of corrugation. The cellular fubftance which it 

 contains is frequently the feat of watery effufion. The fi- 

 brous covering of the teftes and cord is denfe, thick, and eafi- 

 ly demon Arable. The tefticle is fmall, foft, and wafted ; 

 but without any remarkable change in its organization : 

 the volume of the epididymis, on the contrary, is equal to 

 what it poflefled in the adult. The fpermatic cord is ra- 

 ther fmaller, unlefs the veins fliould be in a dilated ftate. 

 The veficulx feminales are collapfed, and the proftate be- 

 comes hard : the penis is conftantly placid. 



Phvjiology of the male Organs of Generation. — We ftiall de- 

 fcribe, in the firft place, the fecundating fluid, as it appears 

 when expelled from the body in the adt of copulation ; and 

 (hall then diftinguifti the various parts of this compound li- 

 quor. We fhall exhibit the fafts which have been afcertain- 

 ed concerning this interefting fubjetl, jull as we treat any 

 other part of phyfiology : we mult either ufe fuch language 

 as fliall be intelligible, or pafs over in entire filence every 

 thing which relates to the production and development of 

 the new beings, and the continuation of the fpecies. 



The fluid expelled from the urethra of a healthy man, un- 

 der the influence of the venereal acl, is white, inclining per- 

 haps flightly to a blueifh caft. But it is not homogeneous, 

 as it contains thicker and more opaque mixed with a more 

 thin and femipellucid matter. The latter is more abimdant 

 in proportion as tlie fubjcct is weaker, and the aft more fre- 

 quently repeated. From this difference in tlie appearance of 

 its component parts it h.as been fometimes compared to coa- 

 gulated mills.- It is of a vifcous or glutinous nature, and 

 therefore readily entangles air : hence it becomes frothy if rub- 

 bed in a mortar. When firft diicharged, its confiltcnce is about 

 equal to that of a thick cream ; but ao it cools, the opaque 

 mucilaginous part becimes tranfparent, and acquires greater 

 confiilency. In about twenty minutes after its emilhon the 

 whole becomes liquid : at this time, too, it is tranfparent, 

 having depofited a fediment of a whitifli matter, refembling 

 a ma's of fljndcr rags. The liquefaftion is not owing to 

 the abiorption of moifture from the air, for it lofes inftead 

 of acquiring weight during its expofure to the atmofphere ; 



no.r 



