Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/171

 and is next to the rectum, through which an examination may be made to determine its size. For it often enlarges in elderly men, the frequent passage of urine in small amounts being a symptom of enlarged prostate.

The procreating glands, which secrete the spermatozoa or semen, are two in number, the testes or testicles, and are homologous to the ovaries in the female. They are ovoid in form and are suspended by the spermatic cords in a sac, the scrotum, back of the penis. During early fetal life they are in the back of the abdomen near the kidneys, but before birth they descend along the inguinal canals into the scrotum. The excretory duct of the testis is called the vas deferens. It passes up by the spermatic cord through the inguinal canal into the pelvis to the base of the bladder and at the base of the prostate joins the duct of the vesicula seminalis to form the ejaculatory duct. The two vesiculæ seminales are small receptacles for the semen lying in contact with the base of the bladder and secrete a fluid with which they dilute the semen. The ejaculatory duct terminates near the prostate in the urethra by a slit-like orifice on each side, the spermatozoa being finally excreted through the urethra.

The penis is the external organ of generation in the male and is attached to the pubes and the anterior part of the ischium. It is composed of erectile tissue and encloses the urethra, the meatus urinarius appearing at its end as a vertical slit. Toward the end the skin of the penis is loose and is prolonged forward in what is known as the prepuce or foreskin. It is this that is clipped away in circumcision.

The Female Generative Organs.—The female generative organs include the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, and the external genitalia or vulva.

The ovaries, which are homologous to the testes in the male, are two flattened oval bodies, grayish pink in color, suspended from the lateral or broad ligaments